“Our daughter is a great kid. She’s always been a happy child, done well in school, and made her parents very proud. When she decided to join the track team in grade eight, I was cautiously supportive.…We had noticed that our daughter had become quite a fussy eater in the year or two prior….At suppertime, she would often take one or two mouthfuls of food and then say she felt “yukky” or full. By May of 2001 her weight had dropped below 80 lbs.”
This sounds much like the “typical” story of teenage anorexia with which many of us are familiar. But these are clips from a father’s account I came across several years ago that opened my eyes to a whole new aspect of eating disorders.
When a young woman presents with symptoms such as weight loss, low appetite and, perhaps, depression or similar psychological symptoms, the assumption is that she has anorexia nervosa — that is, that she has decided she’s fat, needs to lose weight, and therefore chooses not to eat. Depression — or other psychological symptoms — are assumed to be the cause. When that’s the case, addressing the psychological symptoms may be an effective course of action.
But what if the cause is not psychological? It is typically not even considered that the cause of “anorexia” may actually be a physical issue. This is somewhat understandable when you consider that many of the symptoms which are generally thought to cause anorexia are also symptoms of starvation/malnutrition. This means that if a physical issue makes it difficult for an individual to eat, or to absorb food adequately, it’s quite possible that she will ultimately present with the same symptoms as an anorexic patient. The problem is, by perceiving symptoms as causes, we miss the actual causes.
Anorexia caused by an underlying physical complaint will not be resolved by psychological means.
Be Aware
Most of you are moms; probably very few of my readers, if any, are doctors. So I’m not asking you to treat anything. What I am asking is that, as we observe Eating Disorder Awareness Week, you be aware of this aspect of eating disorders — and help pass it on. It is important, of course, to keep our eyes open for signs of emotional disorders in the young ladies we love. But it is also important to trust our young daughters and friends when they try to tell us that there is something more going on, so that both psychological and physiological roots can be properly addressed.
Thank you for sharing this with the Tuesday Baby Link Up community. This certainly is important informatiton to consider – our medical culture often overlooks the underlying causes in favor of treating symptoms.