Eating disorders how can i help

Parents often feel they must take on responsibility for the eating disorder, which is something they truly have no control over. Recovering from an eating disorder takes time. Provide hope and encouragement, praise each small step forward, and stay positive through struggles and setbacks. Learn about eating disorders. Listen without judgment. Resist the urge to advise or criticize.

Be mindful of triggers. Avoid discussions about food, weight, eating or making negative statements about your own body. It can help set an example of a healthy relationship with food. Take care of yourself. Make sure you have your own support, so you can provide it in turn. Authors: Melinda Smith, M. Harvard Health Books. National Eating Disorders Association. Eating Disorders — Causes, effects, warning signs, and treatment of eating disorders in kids and teens.

National Eating Disorder Information Centre. Treatment —Tips on eating disorder treatment. In the U. Cookie Policy. These tips can help you support your child, family member, or friend. Types of eating disorders The most common eating disorders are: Anorexia. Myths and Facts about Eating Disorders Myth 1: You have to be underweight to have an eating disorder.

Myth 2: Only teenage girls and young women are affected by eating disorders. Myth 3: People with eating disorders are vain. Warning signs of an eating disorder Many people worry about their weight, what they eat, and how they look. Restricting food or dieting Making excuses to avoid meals or situations involving food e. Taking diet pills, prescription stimulants like Adderall or Ritalin, or even illegal drugs such as amphetamines speed, crystal, etc.

Speak out! How to talk to someone about their eating disorder The decision to make a change is rarely an easy one for someone with an eating disorder. What not to do Avoid ultimatums. Get more help. National Eating Disorders Association Eating Disorders — Causes, effects, warning signs, and treatment of eating disorders in kids and teens.

Print PDF. Myth 1: You have to be underweight to have an eating disorder. Individual therapy. Explores both the eating disorder symptoms and the underlying emotional and interpersonal issues that fuel them. The focus is on increasing self-awareness, challenging dysfunctional beliefs, and improving self-esteem and sense of control.

Family therapy. Examines the family dynamics that may contribute to an eating disorder or interfere with recovery. Often includes some therapy sessions without the patient—a particularly important element when the person with the eating disorder denies having a problem.

Group therapy. Allows people with eating disorders to talk with each other in a supervised setting. Helps to reduce the isolation many people with eating disorders feel. Group members support each other through recovery and share their experiences and advice. This is not surprising. The best time to share your concern is outside the context of a meal.

Try to find a quiet moment when you can be alone. Is everything okay? Here are some tips for your conversation:. A common—and often frustrating for loved ones—symptom of an eating disorder is anosognosia.

As a result, they do not believe they need help. Remembering there is a biological reason for this can help you to better handle this behavior. Instead, realize they have a deficit in their insight. By continuing to present reality and gently expressing concern, you may eventually be able to chip away at the lack of insight and encourage them to get help.

Many people with eating disorders report that it was only because of other people in their lives caring about them that they recovered. Keep this in mind when things seem hopeless—you can be enormously helpful to your friend or loved one.

Offer hope and remind them that most people with eating disorders do recover. Eating disorders can be deadly. A medical doctor is a great place to start; therapists and dietitians with eating disorder experience can also provide an assessment and treatment. You can learn more about the types of treatment available for your loved one. Eating disorders can be painfully isolating illnesses because they make it hard for the person to socialize. To the extent you are able, continue to spend time with your friend or loved one with an eating disorder outside of meals.

Run an errand together, go to a show, watch a movie, or just hang out. Keep trying and maintain the connection. One very tangible thing you can do to support a loved one with an eating disorder is to eat with them or help support their eating. For people with an eating disorder, meals can be extremely challenging. And yet, it is something they must do daily—several times!

They can struggle with decisions about what to eat and may experience extremely high anxiety before, during, and after meals. They may also experience urges to purge after meals. Higher levels of care, such as residential treatment centers and partial hospitalization programs, provide support around meals, but for people in the outpatient setting, having people with whom to eat can be immensely helpful.

Whether in person or over video chat, sharing a meal can be a wonderful support to a person with an eating disorder. During the meal, just be calm and supportive. Provide engaging conversation about neutral topics other than their eating disorder or food. After the meal, try to engage them in a distracting activity if they experience urges to purge. These urges often last about an hour after eating.

Many eating disorders are perpetuated by a fear of weight gain, which is reinforced by our cultural ideals around thinness.

Many professionals believe that one way to reduce eating disorders is to challenge societal structures and the 70 billion-dollar-plus U. A great way to support a person with an eating disorder is to provide counter messages.

Encourage the acceptance of bodies of all shapes and sizes and discourage dieting. But to the extent that you can, try to reduce the reminders that you can control. The majority of eating and weight restoration takes place in the outpatient setting. Day treatment programs are structured and generally require attendance for multiple hours a day, several days a week. Day treatment can include medical care; group, individual and family therapy; structured eating sessions; and nutrition education.

With residential treatment, you temporarily live at an eating disorder treatment facility. A residential treatment program may be necessary if you need long-term care for your eating disorder or you've been in the hospital a number of times but your mental or physical health hasn't improved.

Eating disorders can cause serious health problems related to inadequate nutrition, overeating, bingeing and other factors. The type of health problems caused by eating disorders depends on the type and severity of the eating disorder. In many cases, problems caused by an eating disorder require ongoing treatment and monitoring. You are the most important member of your treatment team. For successful treatment, you need to be actively involved in your treatment and so do your family members and other loved ones.

Your treatment team can provide education and tell you where to find more information and support. There's a lot of misinformation about eating disorders on the web, so follow your treatment team's advice and get suggestions on reputable websites to learn more about your eating disorder.

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