Eating Disorder Awareness Week: How to support your loved ones

It is Eating Disorder Awareness Week

Facing an eating disorder is something you should never have to do alone. It is a frightening, overwhelming, and often quite isolating time, but having a support circle around you can help you get through it.

Knowing that you're not facing this alone will help lift you up on the bad days, but how can we offer our support if one of our loved ones is suffering?

According to SpunOut, an eating disorder is a health condition that can cause both serious and life-threatening changes in your eating habits.

Anyone can suffer from an eating disorder, but many people will hide it from their loved ones.

The team at BodyWhys explained that this is because an eating disorder is like a coping mechanism for an underlying issue. That is why we need to be understanding if a person we love is hesitant to open up about their struggles.

"They may be very fearful and become anxious at the prospect of change," the team explained.

How can we help them?

The team at BodyWhys said one of the best things to do is keep the 'idea' of an eating disorder as a way of coping with difficult feelings in your mind. They said you should use this as a guide when supporting your loved one.

You should also avoid focusing on food and the person's relationship with food because this can often lead to power struggles and arguments.

The team said: "You should try a different approach and try talk about something else."

"Be careful of power struggles. The all-or-nothing thinking that an eating disorder thrives on can push families into all-or-nothing positions. When this happens, nobody except the eating disorder wins.

"Think about how to meet the person in the middle, how to get them to compromise, and how you can work together."

It's important to remember that small steps are what you should focus on rather than expecting things to change overnight.

"Change is so frightening for a person, so it is important to break any change down into manageable steps and have the patience to do one at a time," the team stressed.

"People with eating disorders are very sensitive and concern themselves with how other people are feeling, and ensuring those they love are okay.

Embracing healthy boundaries at home can lead to change

"It is important for you to model healthy emotional boundaries, to help the person to learn that they do not have responsibility for everyone else’s feelings."

It's important to remind your loved ones who are suffering that they're not alone in their struggles.

Sometimes, all you can do is remind them that they are not alone and that there is always someone in their corner.

The team at SpunOut said:

"The important piece here is not to force the person into getting help, but simply encourage them. Getting the right support is important because there may be issues that they need to talk about that will require someone who is trained and is impartial in the relationship."

If you have been affected by any of the details in this story, you can contact Bodywhys on 01-2107906 or email [email protected].