Our 18 year old daughter has been fully recovered from her triggered eating disorder predisposition for over a year. She was very ill for several months and close to death at one point. We knew we couldn't have 'caused' the ed (diagnosis EDNOS)....we nor she fit any of the 'traditional' profiles for eds....but we were the dutiful parents of a child w/an ed, so we tried hard to find/figure out what was wrong with our family/us as parents ($$$) that could have caused our incredibly healthy, wonderful, happy daughter to make such a devastating 'choice'. FINALLY, we learned about the Maudsley Method and read current research.
We successfully re-fed our daughter at home in a very short period of time, and she has remained healthy since. She understands that she has a biological (genetic) predisposition to triggering an ed if she should become malnourished, and she takes full responsibility (as is age appropriate) for keeping herself fully nourished.
In hindsight, it is easy to see/understand how our daughter became inadvertantly malnourished during a late teen growth spurt which accompanied a typically busy teen schedule and an extended period of physical exertion through normal extracurricular activities. Once malnourished (which, by the way, isn't necessarily accompanied w/immediate weight loss), with the (unknown) predisposition for an ed, she crashed. A beautiful life went spinning out of control.
I want to encourage any parents reading this 'discussion' that your child can fully recover from an eating disorder with full nutrition, supervision (to ensure what goes in, stays in), rest and adequate time (and perhaps counseling) for the brain to heal. Full recovery isn't only possible, it is highly probable with your immediate nutritional intervention.
I remember wondering if my husband and I would have to be responsible for feeding our daughter forever. No. With full nutrition and stabilized healthy body weight, the brain heals. With that healing and cognitive maturity (which isn't fully realized until the mid 20s), our loved ones are not only able to take responsibility for their self care, they want to.
That was our familiy's experience with an ed, and I have learned that our experience is not unusual.
Moms and dads, it's not your 'fault'; our genes are our genes. Read, research, pray.....and nourish. Lose the guilt and get back to the table with your child asap.
I appreciate this 'discussion' and the opportunity to offer hope to parents/caregivers of triggered ed children/loved ones. Thank you.
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Our 18 year old daughter has been fully recovered from her triggered eating disorder predisposition for over a year. She was very ill for several months and close to death at one point. We knew we couldn't have 'caused' the ed (diagnosis EDNOS)....we nor she fit any of the 'traditional' profiles for eds....but we were the dutiful parents of a child w/an ed, so we tried hard to find/figure out what was wrong with our family/us as parents ($$$) that could have caused our incredibly healthy, wonderful, happy daughter to make such a devastating 'choice'. FINALLY, we learned about the Maudsley Method and read current research.
We successfully re-fed our daughter at home in a very short period of time, and she has remained healthy since. She understands that she has a biological (genetic) predisposition to triggering an ed if she should become malnourished, and she takes full responsibility (as is age appropriate) for keeping herself fully nourished.
In hindsight, it is easy to see/understand how our daughter became inadvertantly malnourished during a late teen growth spurt which accompanied a typically busy teen schedule and an extended period of physical exertion through normal extracurricular activities. Once malnourished (which, by the way, isn't necessarily accompanied w/immediate weight loss), with the (unknown) predisposition for an ed, she crashed. A beautiful life went spinning out of control.
I want to encourage any parents reading this 'discussion' that your child can fully recover from an eating disorder with full nutrition, supervision (to ensure what goes in, stays in), rest and adequate time (and perhaps counseling) for the brain to heal. Full recovery isn't only possible, it is highly probable with your immediate nutritional intervention.
I remember wondering if my husband and I would have to be responsible for feeding our daughter forever. No. With full nutrition and stabilized healthy body weight, the brain heals. With that healing and cognitive maturity (which isn't fully realized until the mid 20s), our loved ones are not only able to take responsibility for their self care, they want to.
That was our familiy's experience with an ed, and I have learned that our experience is not unusual.
Moms and dads, it's not your 'fault'; our genes are our genes. Read, research, pray.....and nourish. Lose the guilt and get back to the table with your child asap.
I appreciate this 'discussion' and the opportunity to offer hope to parents/caregivers of triggered ed children/loved ones. Thank you.
June 9, 2009 - 2:11pmThis Comment
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