Eating disorders are and can be one of the cruelest and scariest mental illnesses a teen will suffer from today. At one time I was more up to date on the statistics but I think it has one of the highest morbidity rates of all the mental illnesses. What concerns me is all the hype and growing press around youth eating habits we are experiencing. The media is creating a society obsessing about weight, that is more detrimental than preventitive. One minute we are telling our teens they need to be happy with whom they are and the next minute we are concerned about their lack of exercise and what they are eating. Obesity is a problem in our youth today, but so is anorexia. How do we balance the two?
I will admit I am and have been a bit obsessed with my health and eating habits. My kids luckily have always been on the lean side. Then one day, I learned one of my kids (at 14) became overly lean and I did not realize it. He was exercising and seemed concerned about health, which I thought was a good thing. Fooled me, later I learned he lost 10 pounds. A growing teen losing 10 pounds, not good. From that experience I was bombarded with information on how to eat, control issues and I also felt that our society, the doctors, really did not know how to deal with this disorder. It was not until he ended up at a special clinic that we really got help. Before he went into the program I was told just feed him get calories in him, give him anything, they were not treating the whole person or what was causing the EDO. Eating disorders cause physical, mental disabilities and lead to “body dysmorphia”. The saying is “it is not about the food”, the healing process takes place when you get to the root of the issues.
Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp
My Summers At ‘Fat Camp’ : NPR is an interview with Stephanie Klein with an excerpt from her new book memoir Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp . She is a teen dealing with the self destructive eating issues, she is over weight. She describes her experience, inparticular at school and how mean the kids treated her for being over weight, not whispering but screaming ‘Moose’ at her in the halls. She ends up going to what she calls “Fat Camp”, once again a band-aide for dealing with the real issues leading to her over eating. If only I were skinny my world would be perfect? Her parents thinking they are helping send her to “Fat Camp” but what does she learn from the other campers? How to binge and purge. She did not learn how to carry what she learned into her everyday life when she returned home. This is a quote:
“I chose not to tell the story of Moose in quips and witty puns,” Stephanie Klein writes in her memoir, “because that’s not what adolescence is. It’s awkward and tender, vulnerable and angry. It doesn’t always make sense.”
As a parent, sadly I learned the hard way, the act of eating is a delicate balance and when our kids become teens they are overly conscious of their bodies. As parents the best we can do is offer our teens a well balanced diet, not have a lot of snacks in the house, set good examples and lastly not make a big deal about their appearance. They are already over anxious about how they look. If weight is truly a health issue seek professional help, maybe from a nutritionist and encourage your teen. Anorexia, should be dealt with immediately, before it gets out of hand and they need to be hospitalized.
It saddens me when I talk to kids today and I hear of a parent that is setting consequences around their teens eating habits and weight. Consequences should never be dependant on a teens appearance, how they eat or what they weigh. These are all signs of much bigger issues. Consequences are for not following the rules.
This is a self destructive behavior and is one of the reasons my son is in residential treatment. I also think it is a cry for help. We always want a quick fix, but there is no quick fix for emotional problems. To watch your child whither away to nothing is truly scary, the issues were more than I could handle as a parent.
Purchase the book through Amazon:
Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp
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It is sad that teenagers nowadays feel the pressure to be so skinny to an extent that they are compulsively obsessed about it. Is attention-seeking? Is it a deeper emotional problem? Is it to do with our high paced society where kids feel neglected? Is it because they become focused on self too easily and get caught there? Is it a spiritual issue? Who knows? I often wonder about these things myself. I keep searching the Internet and going through sites like eatingdisorder.com to know more about these disorders and the various treatment options available. I’ve seen too many lives lost this way. We need to give these kids some help. Thanks for your site.