1.  ANOREXIA NERVOSA is a term used to describe a pattern of fasting, extreme dieting, and weight loss accompanied by an intense fear of gaining weight. 
   
2.  BULIMIA NERVOSA is a term used to describe a pattern of binge eating followed by vomiting, excessive exercise, or laxative use. 
   

Although many people recover from eating disorders, the effects of the disorder can be life-endangering. Encourage the student with the eating disorder to get professional help from a counselor or health care provider.

It is important to seek help from a professional who has experience working with people with eating disorders.

Trying to control or change the person’s behavior yourself can often make things worse.

If the student with the eating disorder appears to be seriously ill and refuses treatment, consult with a professional about ways you can help her.

Many parents feel overwhelmed, helpless, angry, or self-blaming when their daughter has an eating disorder. It is important to recognize that your daughter’s problem is very stressful for you. You may want to seek help from a counselor yourself for support.

The best approach you can take is to not involve yourself with your daughter’s eating habits. This may conflict with the way you have parented in the past and may feel uncomfortable.

Encourage your daughter to become responsible for her behavior and for the consequences for her behavior.

Don’t make mealtimes a power struggle.

Encourage your daughter to join you at meals, but do not force her.

Let her make decisions about what she eats.

Do not prepare special food for her—let her do that herself. Monitoring her intake or commenting on what or how she is eating almost always makes eating disorders worse.

If you believe your daughter’s weight is dangerously low, let her counselor or physician know your concern and allow them to set guidelines.

It almost always backfires when parents try to police their daughter’s weight.

Having a friend or roommate with an eating disorder can put strain on a friendship. It is best to be open about your concerns, rather than keeping them secret. Ideally, you want to be supportive without sacrificing your own needs.

Because it is important for an individual with an eating disorder to take responsibility for herself, keeping quiet rather than being honest is not helpful.

If the person’s behavior is troubling you, let her know what behavior changes you would like from her.
If your roommate is eating your food, let her know that you want to be financially reimbursed and tell her how and when she can do that. See if you can negotiate a solution that works for both of you.
You may need to have separate shelves in the refrigerator and cabinets.

If you have been open about your concerns, and have been unable to negotiate a satisfactory solution to problems related to the eating disorders, you may want to consider putting some distance between you. This may mean spending less time together or moving out yourself or asking your friend with the eating disorder to move out. Although this may seem unsupportive, pretending there is not a problem will only support your friend’s dysfunctional eating behaviors.

Recovery from eating disorders is usually a slow process, often taking 2 years or longer.

It is important to find one professional or treatment team to work with and to stick with that person or team. We have often seen students and parents going from professional to professional looking for a "quick and easy cure."

There is no "quick and easy cure" for an eating disorder. Be prepared to be patient and supportive.
At WSU, treatment usually involves a weekly therapy meeting with a counselor and regular monitoring by a medical professional.

Nutritional counseling and group therapy may also be part of treatment.

If the student needs more intensive treatment because her physical health is in danger or her cognitive abilities become impaired, we may recommend that the student return to her own community for more frequent outpatient therapy or intensive day treatment.

Usually when the problem is serious enough to warrant inpatient hospitalization, we will involve parents in the decision-making process.

Guidelines for therapy require that the student give written permission before her counselors can discuss her case with parents. As part of recovery from an eating disorder, it is often important that the student’s therapy remain separate and private from her parents.

Someone from Counseling Services can provide you general information about recovery from an eating disorder.

 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

We recommend the books:

A parent’s guide to anorexia and bulimia. by Katherine Byrne.NOTE: Therapy section is outdated.(1997, Harper Perrenial)

 

Eating disorder source book.by Carolyn Costin.(1996, RGA Publishing Group)

 

Surviving an eating disorder: Strategies for family and friends by Michele Siegel, Judith Brisman, and Margot Weinshiel. (1997, Harper Perennial).