Back to reality and sorting out all those outstanding ED bits and pieces

Now that our successful week's holiday is over and Ben has finally ordered his new Xbox (putting some of the 'points money' towards it) it's back to reality and working on all those outstanding eating disorder bits and pieces that still remain.


This summer it's so important that we work on the social issues which were bugging Ben before the end of term and preventing him from resuming full days at school - and also leaving him lonely over the school summer break. A successful holiday is one thing, but it does nothing to solve some of the other problem issues - social problems being Public Enemy Number One, as we approach Ben's final and potentially most important year at school, not to mention 3 years at university looming on the horizon...

On Friday we have a CAMHS appointment with the psychiatrist who we haven't seen for a number of weeks. I am going to ask her to focus on the social problems leaving me to focus on the eating / weight side of things. I want her to support me in my insistence that we return to ensuring the necessary daily calories are in place to get back on track as far as the average 0.5kg-a-week goes. I believe she will do this. Or at least I hope she will do this...

The psych is aware that we need to work on the social stuff. However, despite regularly stating that "we need to do some sustained work on x", Ben and her never quite get round to it. As a result, the treatment has had more of a fire-fighting focus to it over the past 20 months, mainly using our sessions to damp down the flames of Ben's immediate reaction to weight gain or loss - or the latest thing that's getting him down.

I feel a strong need to steer things back on course so we see real progress on every single front rather than darting around squirting a fire extinguisher at little fires as they pop up all over the place.

The social / school side of things is the most pressing issue CAMHS need to work on over the summer weeks and probably beyond.

Food / weight gain and restoration / challenges are what I need to focus on, with CAMHS' whole-hearted support.