How does life change for the families and friends who find out about a loved one's eating disorder? Caregiving for a person with an eating disorder is often life-changing. And the more a parent or friend cares, the harder caregiving can be.
- Discovering the Eating Disorder
It's hard to overstate the shock of finding out that a loved one has an eating disorder. But the sense of betrayal doesn't have to be immobilizing.
- Dealing With Challenges in Meals, Time, and Money
Eating disorders affect more than meals. Time and monetary demands on those who give care can easily cause intense friction.
- Starting to Feel Like Food
How do you know that eating disorders aren't really about food? When you realize that the person with the eating disorder has a pattern that treats you just like the food with which he or she struggles.
- Maintaining Healthy Relationships
Eating disorders can be dramatic, absorbing, and time-consuming. But they don't have to end the other parts of your life that are healthy. It's important to give time to healthy relationships: Caregivers need care, too.
Being an Eating Disorder Caregiver Requires Action -- For Yourself
Caring for someone with an eating disorder caregiver is (among other things) a struggle to maintain a sense of independence when there are suddenly many powerful demands on your time.
If you find yourself in this position, it doesn't help to try to do everything yourself. Mobilize those resources. Look into treatment options. Seek out other families who have had children with eating disorders. Find support groups, particularly for yourself. Choose friends with whom you can talk about your loved one's eating disorder and your own fears. Your child or friend likely feels isolated by the eating disorder. Without good resources in your corner, you will, too.
