Advice and resources
We’ve provided several links below to resources provided by F.E.A.S.T. (Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment
www.feast-ed.org
). F.E.A.S.T. is the global support and education community of and for parents of those with eating disorders. They are sending out the strong message that families at home are in fact in a position to do much of the work of treatment and to do so with the evidence behind them: families are strong allies of recovery and the home can be a powerful driver of treatment goals.
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Recovery First:
even in a pandemic
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Supervision
: parents can serve the same roles as clinic staff
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Structure
: eating disorder sufferers benefit from structure and predictability and routines
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Skills
: the F.E.A.S.T. community shares a wide variety of tools and strategies for caregivers to choose from
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Connection
: isolation at home means connection with family and also with the world virtually
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Information is power
: parents and caregivers are empowered and supported by good information and making choices that work for one’s individual family
Well informed and knowledgeable parents can provide the best support to their loved ones in recovery. We urge you to spend some time looking through the resources linked below, but do take a good look around the rest of the F.E.A.S.T. website – there are plenty of great pieces of information covering a variety of topics.
Main Pandemic Support page:
F.E.A.S.T. community pandemic support resources
Suggested links which may be of particular interest at this time:
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Are Individuals with Eating Disorders at Greater Risk from COVID-19?
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Distress Tolerance is a Parental Superpower, Not a Lack of Caring
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If you are supporting a young person in recovery
we encourage you to take a look at this short video, only 3½ minutes, made by a dad about the moving target of height and weight in recovery:
https://www.feast-ed.org/the-moving-target-model/
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'Normalizing Normal'
– more relevant than ever in these most abnormal of times:
https://www.feast-ed.org/normalizing-normal/
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Recovery First: Yes, Even in a Pandemic
– a position statement on the COVID-19 effect on families facing eating disorders:
https://www.feast-ed.org/recovery-first-even-in-a-pandemic/
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A good item on
meal planning
from Dr Lauren Muhlheim, a Clinical Psychologist specialising in the treatment of eating disorders in California, can be found here:
https://www.verywellmind.com/meal-planning-for-eating-disorder-recovery-3956593
Dr Muhlheim is a F.E.A.S.T. Advisor and writes:
“An eating disorder meal plan includes 3 meals a day and 2 to 3 snacks evenly spaced throughout the day. You should always have a general idea of what and when your next meal or snack will be. This applies to everyone, but especially those struggling with disordered eating behaviors.
Having a structure and a plan to prevent grazing will help you to regulate your hunger and satiety cues, reduce binge eating, avoid undereating, and manage your food supply on the sparsest number of shopping trips. Make sure to plan meals that are satisfying physically and emotionally.
Depriving yourself of adequate nutrition and enjoyable foods is not going to keep you safe from a virus. On the other hand, staying emotionally satisfied and nourished will help stabilize your blood sugar levels, mood, and emotional coping.”
And lastly, a practical article about
coping with COVID-19-related disappointments.
"Give yourself the same compassion you would give to others":
https://www.sharp.com/health-news/coping-with-covid-19-related-disappointments.cfm