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NEDA TOOLKIT for Parents Anorexia is the only serious eating disorder. When researchers examined the death rates of individuals with any eating disorder diagnosis who were being treated as outpatients, they found that bulimia and EDNOS (now OSFED) had mortality rates that approached the high rates seen in anorexia nervosa. During the study, roughly 1 in 20 people with eating disorders died as a result of their illness. Individuals who abuse laxatives or diuretics or force themselves to vomit are at significantly higher risk of sudden death from heart attacks due to electrolyte imbalances. Excessive exercise also can increase the risk of death in individuals with eating disorders by increasing the amount of stress on the body. Since I don’t see my loved one engaging in eating disordered behaviors, I don’t need to worry about them. Many eating disorder sufferers go out of their way to hide symptoms of their illness, either out of shame or because they are afraid someone will make them stop. It’s not uncommon for loved ones to be caught off guard at how severe and pervasive the eating disorder behaviors are when a diagnosis is made or when people close to the sufferer become aware they are struggling. If you are aware a loved one is struggling it is important to express concern, with empathy and compassion, and encourage the individual to seek help. My loved one isn’t ready to recover from their eating disorder, and there’s nothing I can do until they are. Some eating disorder sufferers have difficulty recog­ nizing that they are ill or appreciating the severity of their situation. Still others may desperately want to stop their behaviors but are afraid. While expressing a readiness and willingness to recover is a positive sign, treatment doesn’t need to wait for your loved one to be ready. If your loved one is under the age of 18, and even if they aren’t, it is crucial to begin treatment as soon as you are aware of the problem. Early intervention is consistently associated with higher recovery rates. If the individual struggling is an adult, family and friends should continue to express concerns about the negative impact of the eating disorder on their loved one’s life and encourage him/her to seek professional help. As a parent, there’s not much I can do to help my child recover. Research continues to consistently find the opposite is true: parental involvement in a child’s eating disorder treatment can increase chances of recovery. Some forms of treatment, like Family-Based Treatment (FBT) (also known as the Maudsley Method), require that parents temporarily take control of the child’s eating and monitor for purging until a healthy weight and regular eating patterns are established. Other loved ones can continue to provide support to the eating disorder sufferer by helping to reduce anxiety over eating and reminding them they are more than their illness. Even if you decide FBT isn’t right for your family, there are still plenty of ways for you to be involved in your child’s or loved one’s treatment. My family member won’t recover until they uncover the reason they developed their eating disorder. While some people can point to a reason or event that they believe caused their eating disorder, plenty of people with eating disorders don’t have a specific reason. Nor is there any evidence that uncovering the cause of an eating disorder is correlated with recovery. Regardless of why someone may have developed an eating disorder, generally the first priorities of treatment are to restore normal eating and weight. If my loved one insists they are fine, I should believe them. Problems with accurate self-awareness are one of the hallmarks of EDs, so your loved one may not have the self-awareness required to recognize a problem. Thus, the individual struggling may genuinely believe they are fine when they are acutely ill. Other people may deny the presence of an eating disorder even when they know they are ill because they are afraid of treatment. Regardless of the reason, it is important to insist on treatment by a trained mental health professional and regular medical follow-up with a physician who is well-versed in eating disorders. (See page 20 for more information on medical tests.) Page  | 7