Coping With Eating Disorders
I keep binge eating and then making myself sick. Am I bulimic?
I think my friend is bulimic but she's in denial. How can I help her?
Part of an eating disorder is the guilt. She probably doesn't want to admit to anybody or even herself that she has an eating disorder. The best thing you can do is to be there for her. Encourage her to ring a support helpline like Child Line, so that she can have ongoing regular support about the feelings and also encourage her to seek medical help, maybe the school nurse or the doctor.
I'm depressed and don't feel like eating. Am I anorexic?
You need to seek medical help. Depression does put you off your food but people can also eat for comfort. It's a good idea to get some medical help.
Should I keep my eating disorder secret?
No secret is good, and especially about an eating disorder, because it does have implications for your health. This is especially true among young people, because it can affect their bone growth, and their teeth. At a time when they're developing, and when their body's developing, it's important that you have a very balanced diet and that you don't restrict food or eat too much food, so it's really important to get some help.
I suspect my sister is anorexic. What are the signs and how can I be sure?
You can identify signs if she's very secretive around mealtimes, and maybe tries to get out of sitting at the table, or if you think she may be hiding food away and generally seems very stressed if put in the position where she has to eat food in front of somebody. Also, if she is losing lots of weight or is wearing baggy clothes and you know that she's quite skinny. There's lots of signs. There is the eating disorders association. If you go on their website you can get some more specialist help there.
How can I try to overcome anorexia?
It's really important that you get support with overcoming any eating disorder. Obviously your school nurse or your doctor, maybe talk to your friends, and get some help. You can ring Childline to have some ongoing, regular counselling support.
Can you ever recover from an eating disorder?
Yes, you can. That's the really important thing to remember. With the right help and with support, you can discover. You'll also learn to recognize the trigger signs. If you get the trigger signs, you know then to get some more support.
