Most parents can attest to the difficulty of getting kids to try new foods. Picky eating is nothing new, but what happens when it involves many foods, never goes away, or gets worse?
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is an eating disorder involving an extreme avoidance or low intake of food. Dr. Julie Lesser, MD, child and adolescent psychiatrist at Rogers–Minneapolis, shares seven facts that you should know about ARFID.
1. ARFID is different than picky eating.
Eating disorders disconnect sufferers from healthy intuition by fixating on trivial externalities, falsely assigning meaning to numbers, objects, and food in an effort to soothe a damaged psyche. Having an eating disorder is living half in the failures of the past and half in the dreaded unknown of the future, and never fully aware of the present moment.
Thank you to Aloria Health for sponsoring this blog post.
Being the parent of a child with a mental health diagnosis can be exhausting. Deciding to send your child away from their norm is not only a hard choice but sometimes the choice between life and loss. At Aloria Health, we invite conversations with our client’s families and address the complexities of each client's situation, including their family dynamics. We have invited families to share their stories to help others who are facing similar challenges.
On October 7th, NEDA will be hosting the 10th annual New York City NEDA walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Whether this is your first NEDA Walk or you’ve been walking with us from the start, it’s going to be a day filled with hope, support, community, and of course—fun! Keep reading for ten things we’re looking forward to at this year’s walk!
We recognize that making the decision to enter a treatment program can be very difficult. For those who might be considering a higher level of care, we thought some words of encouragement might help make the decision feel a little less daunting.
NEDA collaborated with EDCare to gather advice from others who have previously made the decision. We reached out to our community on social media and asked the question: “How would you encourage others who are hesitant to enter eating disorder treatment?”
Editor’s note: Family Based Treatment (FBT) is one of many effective, evidence-based treatments for eating disorders. Treatment is not a one-size-fits-all approach; it should be tailored to the individual and will vary according to both the severities of the disorder and the patient’s particular problems, needs, and strengths. Click here to learn more about the various levels of care and methodologies.
At the age of thirteen, I was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. Without proper support, understanding, or resources it took me ten years to receive the appropriate treatment I needed to recover. A year into recovery, I began my journey pursuing my master’s degree in occupational therapy. Having personal experiences with mental illness, I was interested in focusing my learning on occupational therapy and mental health (specifically eating disorders).
The start of a new semester can be a bittersweet moment. For most college students, it is time to leave your hometown to return to school. This can be an exciting time where you will navigate campus and rekindle friendships from past semesters. However, for someone in eating disorder recovery, the transition may be overwhelming. Though you may be ready to take on the new semester, it’s important to remember these tips and tricks for maintaining recovery.
Returning to school after summer break is a big transition. It can be a happy and exciting time, as well as a scary and confusing one. Either way, orientation week and going back to school can feel quite disorienting for anyone, but for someone who struggles with an eating disorder it can pose some added challenges.
Last week, I had my first day of classes in Copenhagen, where I will be studying abroad for the next semester. In my applied psychotherapy course, my professor gave us a piece of advice: treat yourself the way you want to treat others, because quite often, we are not as kind to ourselves as we should be. This is true in many aspects, especially when talking about body image.
