How Can You Help Someone With an Eating Disorder?
An eating disorder is one of the most rampant problems that have been plaguing the country for quite some time now, thanks to all the fast food chains and the over hyped calorie losing regimes that do the rounds nowadays. But what can you do when you find out that one of your close ones is suffering from an eating disorder and needs help?
The situation can be quite tricky and you will need some extensive thinking and planning in order to support your loved one. Here is a list of things that you can do in order to help him with the situation:
1. Identify The Reason
On the outside, the main reason behind an eating disorder might seem very simple. It seems to be either over cautiousness about calories or secret bingeing on food items that are otherwise restricted to you. It might also seem as simple as throwing up the food just after a meal. While these are the apparent reasons behind eating disorder you will need to dig deeper and identify the real reason in order to help your loved ones through this.
The deep lying issue with the problem of eating disorder is the fact that the victim is suffering from deep emotional or stress related issue and the apparent disorder is nothing but a showcasing of the same. It involves the likes of self-criticism when it comes to looks, being fat or underweight and other similar motivation related problems.
Identifying this underlying issue and working in order to get rid of it is the secret to helping your loved one with the eating disorder. Trying to convince him to eat will not help in any manner unless this issue has been addressed.
2. Debunk The Myths
As with any form of ailment or problem, there are a number of myths that do the rounds when it comes to eating disorder and you must debunk these in your head and in the victim’s head in an attempt to make some improvement to the situation.
Myth
Eating disorder is a construct and they really don’t pose any danger as such to the victim.
Reality
Eating disorder is surely not a construct as is evident from the numerous effects it has on the body. This includes malfunctioning of the heart, bone loss, infertility and other similar problems. The effect of eating disorder can extend to the situation where it becomes irreversible and even threatens your life.
Myth
Only teenage girls and women are affected by eating disorder.
Reality
There is substantial truth to this myth as statistically eating disorders are more common in teenage girls and women. But that doesn’t mean that men and boys are not at risk of being susceptible to the perils of eating disorder. Such occurrences are also quite common.
One facility that has been proven to be of great help to eating disorder patients is located in California by the name of Harmoney-Grove. You can check out its details at their official website.
Remember that what a victim of eating disorder needs the most is support from friends and family along with prescribed medication, if any. With these things in place, you can take care of your loved ones from the perils of eating disorder.