When Your Child Is Struggling with an Eating Disorder

In the Spring of 2018 my daughter began to want to “eat healthy.” There is nothing wrong with eating healthy, I thought. After all, I am a certified health coach and am a huge advocate of eating healthy. My daughter began reading food labels on some things and I thought, I’ll keep an eye on that. This went on for a few months with no other signs of anything unusual. Until, one day we were riding in the van with my daughter and her two  younger siblings and the two littles asked if we could grab some lunch. I happened to look in the rearview mirror at the same time. My daughter had a look of fear come over her face. That’s the instant I knew that something more serious was going on. I made a mental note to talk to her later that day. Later on I asked her, “Are you just wanting to eat healthy or do you feel guilt or shame when you aren’t able to eat a certain way?” She burst into tears. Yep, this was more serious than I had originally thought. I told her that I was going to get her professional help and not to worry. We would handle this, and it was going to be ok. At this time, said that she didn’t feel fat, but she was afraid to eat certain foods and she wasn’t sure what was happening. She said she would feel out of control sometimes with food and feel the need to exercise in her room to make up for it. I knew these feelings all too well as I had battled an eating disorder myself. I googled professional help in the area and the closest I could find that l...
Source: Psych Central - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Anorexia Bulimia Eating Disorders Parenting Personal Stories Adolescence Body Image Self Harm Self Injury Teenager Source Type: news