A couple of minutes ago I got news that ED has taken yet another victim. Worse, this family lost their beloved child on Christmas Day. On a day when the whole Western World was feasting this family was watching their child die of starvation. On a day when a 'Slimming World' leaflet came through my letterbox, I found out about this terrible event. The irony... My heart goes out to that family. I hate this killer illness.
As I understand it, Anosognosia (where a sufferer is unaware that they are ill) played a significant role in this woman's passing and Becky Henry (author of 'Just Tell Her To Stop') has just given me this link to help raise awareness: http://anorexiatreatmentexposed.com/2011/12/abcs-of-anorexia-a-is-for-anosognosia-the-first-word-to-understand/#.TvoPq1beLD4
As Becky commented to me a few moments ago: "When her family could have been celebrating Christmas...they were instead sitting by her bed in a hospital making the awful decision to pull her off life support"...
And as I responded to Becky: "This is why it is so crazy, nay lethal, to say that someone needs to 'want to recover' before anything can be achieved. This was said to us by a medical professional..."
Yes, I can't count the number of times that one of our treatment team members said this to me and I'd respond: "What if he NEVER wants to recover?" to which she'd simply shrug her shoulders.
The tragic event of Christmas Day is surely proof that treatment teams simply can't afford to wait until a sufferer 'wants to get better'.
How can someone 'want' to recover from an illness they don't believe they have and which no amount of proof will convince them they have?
Want information on eating disorders in boys? Worried your son has an eating disorder? What are the signs of eating disorders in boys? In 2009 my 15-year-old son developed anorexia. Now aged 31 and with a MSc in Psychology he is recovered & working in mental health using his experiences to help others. I help to raise awareness of eating disorders in boys, point parents to helpful resources & talk about how eating disorders can traumatise families.
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PART FOUR of the notes I was making as my son hurtled into anorexia in late 2009...
By November 2009, my son's escalating anorexia was making him behave incredibly erratically and my stress levels were stratospheric. The...
Thank you so much for sharing this important information. We as families facing these deadly illnesses are learning that we need to be making some noise, doing what the autism and breast cancer families have done so well.
ReplyDeleteGetting this information about agnosognosia out there will help health workers to know that they cannot simply wait until the patient is "ready" to get well. And when parents and other family members are trying so hard to get our loved ones help we need the medical staff to take these illnesses seriously and to take action regardless of whether or not the ill person is accepting that they are sick.
And, yes, it is my opinion from what I know of this case that denial of the illness played a large role in preventing treatment and recovery.
Thanks for sharing this here and I hope lots of people will share it and help get the word out.
Becky Henry
Hope Network
I hate ED, too.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at Dr. Sarah Ravin's Red Flags of Ineffective Therapists. How many lives could be saved if the professionals knew what they were doing? http://anorexiatreatmentexposed.com/2011/12/sara_ravin/
ReplyDeleteYou might also be interested in this event: Men get Eating Disorders too.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.facebook.com/FoodIsMedicine#!/events/277934752255853/
It's so frightening how close to disaster we walked. Makes me even more thankful for everyday of recovery.
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