Why "good anger" has brought me back into the world of eating disorders

Right from the start of this blog in 2011, I've pointed families towards the charity, FEAST, the online network that supports parents and carers of young people with eating disorders through its website, forum and facebook group. Now that I'm kind of able to dip back into the world of eating disorders, following a lengthy battle with Complex PTSD, I've been talking with FEAST about possibly becoming one of their parent support volunteers. But first, I've been going through a stack of learning material to bring me up to date with evidence-based treatment and practice in treating adolescents with eating disorders like anorexia. It's an emotional journey!

In case you can't see the PAGES tabs on this blog...

There are 4 additional PAGES tabs on my blog which may not be visible if you're using the app or a smartphone, so I thought I'd just do a quick post with links to them. I've just uploaded a fourth page which talks about what Ben is doing today, in 2025.

Ben in 2025: https://anorexiaboyrecovery.blogspot.com/p/ben-in-2025.html  

About us: https://anorexiaboyrecovery.blogspot.com/p/about-us-anorexia-in-family.html

Our story: https://anorexiaboyrecovery.blogspot.com/p/in-november-2013-i-gave-talk-at.html

Recovery contract: https://anorexiaboyrecovery.blogspot.com/p/recovery-contract.html

PART FIVE of the notes I was making as my son hurtled into anorexia in late 2009...

By the end of 2009, my son's escalating anorexia was getting worse. Supermarket shopping was a nightmare and Christmas Eve saw me in floods of tears as the anorexia robbed us all of our usual happy family Christmas.

I'm wondering if any of this rings a bell with you, if you're worried your son might be developing an eating disorder? That's why I've decided to publish the journal notes I made during the last few months of 2009. It's quite lengthy, so this is Part Five - written in note form.

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 simplest thing could send Ben into a nightmarish yelling and banging-head spiral. 

This was especially horrific if we were eating in public as this Pizza Express incident from late 2009 shows. And, remember, this is while we were still on the long waiting list for eating disorder treatment, so my husband and I were desperately trying to halt the progress Ben's anorexia on our own.

I'm wondering if any of this rings a bell with you, if you're worried your son might be developing an eating disorder? That's why I've decided to publish the journal notes I made during the last few months of 2009. It's quite lengthy, so this is Part Four - written in note form.

Check out this fantastic resource if you're struggling to get your anorexia child to eat!

I remember when I asked CAMHS (the treatment team treating my son, Ben, from 2010) if their treatment involved eating plans for weight gain in anorexia, they produced a printed sheet called Eating Plan 6 (there was no mention of Eating Plans 1,2 3, etc...). 

At first, I thought: "Wow! This might just work!" and on the way back from the therapy session, we stopped off at the supermarket to buy the foods shown on Eating Plan 6.

PART THREE of the notes I was making as my son hurtled into anorexia in late 2009...

By October 2009, my son's emerging eating disorder was raging. We'd eventually managed to get the GP to refer Ben for eating disorder treatment, but - to my horror and panic - we'd been put on a waiting list which could mean a 18-22 week wait before an assessment, let alone the start of treatment for his anorexia. And who was to say that treatment would immediately stop the eating disorder in its tracks?

I'm wondering if any of this rings a bell with you, if you're worried your son might be developing an eating disorder? That's why I've decided to publish this document. It's quite lengthy, so this is Part Three.

A missed opportunity to help other families facing a deadly eating disorder

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed for a national newspaper about eating disorders in boys and to talk about my son's battle with anorexia and eventual full recovery. I'm so grateful for that opportunity to raise awareness of the fact that boys and men get eating disorders like anorexia. But then another publication contacted me, also wanting to raise awareness that boys get eating disorders. I said yes, I'd be happy to be interviewed. But it's not going to happen, and here's why...