We all know that parents have a huge impact on how kids feel about themselves. After all, we are all somebody's children, and we can see how our own parents shaped who we are today. This is why it can be helpful to think about what we wish we had received from our parents and … Continue reading The validation that every child needs to hear from their parent
Eating disorders are perceived as disorders in which the person suffering wastes away and becomes skeletal in appearance. It is true that a rare minority of people who have eating disorders begin at a relatively low body weight and, upon engaging in disordered eating, rapidly lose more weight and become medically underweight. These people often … Continue reading How to know if your child is “sick enough” with an eating disorder
If you have a child who has an eating disorder, then you are likely seriously overwhelmed and stressed out. The best way to deal with this is to accept that having a child who has an eating disorder is really, really hard. Of course you're struggling! Don't try to deny the difficulties or ignore the … Continue reading 10 self-care tips if you’re struggling to deal with your kid’s eating disorder today
Dear Ginny, My daughter is on the heavier side. I do my best to help her love herself by telling her how much I love her and that she’s beautiful to me. The problem is other people. For example, every time we see my mother she mentions my daughter’s weight. Sometimes she does this right … Continue reading Ask Ginny: What can I do when Grandma fat shames my kid?
Eating disorders are much more complex than body image, but negative body image is a hallmark of an eating disorder. We live in a culture that is strongly weight-biased and fatphobic. Our cultural messages assert that a person is healthier, smarter, and more worthy if they live in a smaller body. Weight stigma is very harmful … Continue reading Quiz: are you body positive? Plus, how to be a body positive parent and when “body positive” is not actually body positive
We sat down with Jennifer Rollin, an eating disorder therapist and founder of The Eating Disorder Center based in Maryland, to find learn what’s new in the treatment of eating disorders. 1. What do you think has changed about the way we treat eating disorders in the past 10 years? I think there have been … Continue reading What’s new in eating disorder treatment? An interview with Jennifer Rollin, MSW, LCSW-C
When you have an eating disorder, it's helpful to avoid situations that focus on diet culture, weight loss, food fear, and exercise addiction. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving is a national holiday that brings out all of these cultural tendencies. As a food-based event, Thanksgiving puts those of us who have/had eating disorders at risk of exposure to … Continue reading Family scripts for an eating disorder friendly Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving and other holidays can be very stressful for people who have eating disorders. Often when families get together, the first thing they talk about is dieting and body size. It's a national obsession and is even more prevalent on a food-based holiday. If you have a child who has an eating disorder, it's important … Continue reading How to make Thanksgiving eating disorder friendly
There is a strong link between being depressed, having an eating disorder, and being female in a western industrialized country. Here are some facts about these conditions: 1. Females are twice as likely as males to be depressed, and the vast majority of eating disorder patients are female. 2. The depression sex difference emerges at … Continue reading The link between depression, eating disorders, and being female in western industrialized cultures
It's easy to get caught up in the behaviors of eating disorders. We can obsess over a child's eating patterns, exercise, and body weight. But the real thing we need to be looking at is their thought patterns because their thoughts underlie the behaviors. People who have eating disorders often exhibit 10 common cognitive (thinking) … Continue reading 10 cognitive (thinking) distortions that support eating disorder behaviors
