Sharing the Burden
Eating disorders are insidious and destructive and will take people down as well as the sufferer if you let it.
- Avoid the guilt-parents and families do not cause anorexia/bulimia
- Talk to family and friends about the illness so they understand what a typical day is like for you
- Educate them about the illness so they understand it is not bad behaviour but a serious mental illness (refer to section on myths)
- Present a united front - even though this can be sometimes very difficult.
- Support your partner and share meal times as they can be the most stressful part of the day
- Troubleshoot and plan privately, not in front of the ill person or other siblings.
- Work out strategies to help the family function
- The family member with the illness is only one member of the family - don't neglect the others
- Take time out for yourself and your partner.
- Ask others for help
- If possible spend time with other siblings away from the family environment
- Look into health and Voluntary agencies that can provide relief and support for your family
- Helpline 09 522 2679
- Contact EDANZ forum (an opportunity to gain help and support from other parents of eating disorder sufferers)
- Financial support parents can access for caring for children is available
"Few experiences are more agonising than watching your daughter transform into someone hardly recognisable and being opposed and reviled with a newfound wrath,as if you were the enemy, when you attempt to help." Biting the Hand that Starves You by Maisel, Epston and Borden.
