The following is an edit of a comment I added to my Around The Dinner Table forum post about PTSD in parents and carers after the eating disorder has gone:
I must say that EMDR, administered and monitored properly, seems to be doing the trick. It is evidence-based. At first I was mega sceptical - it sounded like some kind of weird mumbo jumbo technique, but it does work!
I am finding, as I go on, that the key is to take small steps and draw back whenever you feel like running before you can walk, as I am prone to do!! I say to myself "Woah!!! Time for a cuppa."
For MONTHS... well a couple of YEARS really.... everything felt 'too big' and over the past months I've been withdrawing more and more and becoming dissociated and mega numb without any feelings, negative or positive - and with regular nightmares / night terrors.
But as the therapy starts to work I am definitely thawing out and beginning to feel again. It feels really odd and wonderful at the same time!
For the first time for ages, I've been able to visit this forum, blog (biz and eating disorder blogs), go out and do stuff, even de-clutter the house! All of this would have sent me scuttling for my duvet and knitting up until very recently, so this is definitely progress and I am so fortunate in having a supportive husband.
So positive news, all in all!
PS: For those of you that don't know, Around The Dinner Table is a FANTASTIC and supportive forum for parents and carers of young people suffering from eating disorders. It was a lifesaver for me when my son was sick with anorexia. So if you're a parent of a young person with an eating disorder, please visit this wonderful forum and its 'parent' website F.E.A.S.T (Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders)!
Boys get eating disorders, too, just like girls. In 2009 my 15-year old son developed anorexia. Now, aged 23 and studying for a Masters Degree at university, he is thankfully recovered. This blog is our story.
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