Join Malia and Kiara in the final episode of the Eating Disorder Podcast Series, in partnership with Safe Communities Wellington County. This episode focuses on tips and advice surrounding supporting a family member or friend who is experiencing disordered eating or an eating disorder.
Join Malia and Kiara in the final episode of the Eating Disorder Podcast Series, in partnership with Safe Communities Wellington County. This episode focuses on tips and advice surrounding supporting a family member or friend who is experiencing disordered eating or an eating disorder.
Kiara 0:11
Hello, everyone. If this is your first time listening to our podcast, my name is Kiara,
Malia 0:16
And I'm Malia. And we're Youth Ambassadors at The Grove based at the Erin site, if you've heard our voices before hello, and welcome back to episode four of the Get With The Grove eating disorder podcast series in collaboration with Safe Communities.
Kiara 0:30
This is just a reminder that this series aims to spread awareness and break the stigma surrounding eating disorders in the Wellington County community.
Malia 0:39
Just to give you a little bit of an introduction, Safe Communities Wellington county promotes safe and healthy behaviors and protects people from hurt and harm. Safe Communities Wellington County and its member committees works with representatives from local municipal councils, emergency services, public health, school boards, and other stakeholders who have made it their goal to maintain Wellington County as a designated safe community. All members strive to make Wellington county the safest and healthiest place in which to live, learn, work and thrive.
Kiara 1:14
In working with public health, they provided us with the data of why people land in the emergency room of the local Groves Hospital in Fergus, and one of the areas was intentional self harm. With that, the safe communities working group is focused on mental wellness, and specifically this year, they are looking at eating disorders since there's so much data around the rise in people struggling with eating disorders, not only in our community, but generally speaking. We are not the experts, but we want to provide opportunities for conversations, awareness raising and bringing resources to our community that otherwise wouldn't be there. It is exciting to team up with Safe Communities for this podcast series and be a part of these conversations.
Malia 1:57
Before we dive into today's episode on how to support someone with an eating disorder, I just wanted to give a special shout out again to everyone who has been on a podcast episode for this series. This includes Terra, Valentina, Sabrina and Sydney. You have all done such an incredible job at opening up the conversation surrounding disordered eating, and we're all very appreciative for your time.
Kiara 2:20
Now, let's get into the final episode of the eating disorder podcast series where we are going to be focusing on how to support someone with an eating disorder. We will specifically look at how you can support a family member or friend that is displaying symptoms of an eating disorder.
Malia 2:37
If this is the first episode you're listening to this series, this is just a reminder that there are three other episodes a part of this series, including an introduction episode on what eating disorders are, followed by how the culture of sports and athletics can foster an environment of eating disorders, and the most recent episode, featured an amazing brave guest speaker, Sydney, and she talked about her lived experience going through an eating disorder.
Kiara 3:03
If you have not checked out any of those episodes yet, I highly recommend them. They're very informative and feature a lot of amazing guest speakers. Now let's jump into today's episode.
Malia 3:15
I feel like a lot of us may have gone through a point in our lives where we experienced a friend, a family member or co worker, or anybody else struggled with disordered eating or an eating disorder. If you're currently experiencing this or want to be prepared for when a time like this comes along, you are tuned in to the right episode.
Kiara 3:34
I just want to start off by saying we are not experts in this topic, and all the advice and information I will provide in this podcast is coming from the National Eating Disorder Information Center, also known as NEDIC. If you haven't checked out this website yet, I highly recommend it. There are a lot of amazing resources on there, and they even have their own blog where a lot of strong and brave individuals touch on their lived experience with an eating disorder. Their website is www.nedic.ca
Malia 4:08
If you believe someone in your life may be experiencing an eating disorder or signs of disordered eating it's important to remember to be patient, informed, compassionate, encouraging and non-judgmental. And we'll go over how to do this in depth more throughout this episode, so stay tuned. When you first approach an individual do not be surprised if they reject your expression of concern or meet you with anger or denial because for many individuals, having an eating disorder corresponds with experiencing shame and pain. Do not rush the person and recognize that it will take time for the person to make changes, and that it's up to the individual to make the decision of if they want to reach out for support and seek help and not yours to make. Learning about eating disorders, the warning signs and the symptoms can help you better understand how to help someone as well as what resources are available for the specific eating disorder someone is experiencing.
Kiara 5:01
Additionally, make sure to inform yourself about eating disorders. Listening to this podcast episode is an amazing first step to do this. You can also educate yourself by reading resources and stories on the NEDIC website, or reading books and speaking to trained professionals. You can also reach out to NEDIC's helpline through calling or chatting to find support and direction to relative resources in your area. It is very important to understand that an eating disorder is a complex mental and physical illness that may also be a coping strategy for an individual and that eating disorders are not about food or vanity.
Malia 5:42
It's also important to understand that eating disorders are not a choice. The person would prefer to have healthier coping mechanisms, and is doing the best that they can at the present moment. Show compassion for the pain and confusion the individual may be experiencing. You can help encourage the person to see themselves as more than their eating disorder. To do this, you can talk about other aspects of the individual's life, and of life more generally. Additionally, you can help affirm their strengths and interests that are unrelated to food or physical appearance. One way to do this, could be by taking a piece of paper, writing that individuals name and maybe even drawing a little picture of that individual. Around that drawing you can write different affirmations around it that are not related to physical appearance. For example, an affirmation could be "I'm caring", "I'm good at science", "I'm smart", and so on and so forth. You can keep this drawing and take it out whenever you need a little reminder.
Kiara 6:40
Along with being patient, informed, compassionate, and encouraging. You will also want to ensure you remain non judgmental. Support the individual by validating the healthy changes that the person does make however small they may be. And remember, decisions about when and how to get help, and what kind of help are not yours to make, but they are the individuals.
Malia 7:06
When first approaching someone that you believe may show signs of disordered eating, you want to make sure to focus on feelings and relationships, not on weight and food. To do this, you can tell them that you are concerned about their health, but make sure to respect their privacy. Ensure that you are not commenting on how they look, the person is already aware of their body. Even if you're trying to compliment them by saying "you lost some weight you look so good". These comments about weight or appearance tend to be unhelpful and may reinforce their distorted self perception. Additionally, make sure to focus on the main reasons you are concerned while trying your hardest not to be negative.
Kiara 7:48
Throughout this experience, it is important to maintain a positive relationship with someone who's experiencing an eating disorder or disordered eating. Making the relationship all about their eating disorder or food will only increase shame, guilt, and eating disorder behaviors, rather than making the person feel supported. Partaking in activities that they enjoy, and healthy activities and hobbies that encourage independence, a self of efficiency and build their sense of worth, is a good way to support and encourage their recovery without letting the eating disorder consume your lives. It can also be helpful to separate the issue from a person. Sometimes an eating disorder can make people lash out and behave differently. Looking at the eating disorder as separate from your friend or family member, especially in times of conflict, can help you to understand that it is the eating disorder that is causing these outbursts and it is not them. Remember that disordered eating does not define this person.
Malia 8:48
Body image is the mental image or picture of your own body, poor body image and disordered eating work hand in hand, so it can be helpful to practice counteracting negative body image messaging. As we previously talked about, this can be done through educating yourself and speaking up. Do not engage in belittling comments and jokes about body sizes and cultures, or label foods as sinful or bad for you. We must criticize the culture and systems that promote disordered eating and model healthy lifestyles while talking about identifying stress responses and learning how to cope. Each person's needs are different. So the ways in which we support the people in our life will look different from person to person. But patience and understanding is something each person will need no matter who it is. Take the time to learn about disordered eating and how to identify when your loved ones may need help. Practice helping others develop self esteem outside of just their physical appearance through affirmation and encouragement about their personality, achievements, and their passions. Developing healthy habits and body image starts in childhood. Teach children that their self worth is not related to how they look, but rather who they are as a person. Prevention and awareness is still an essential part of supporting those who struggle with disordered eating. Being aware of the signs and practicing building positive body image in youth is essential.
Kiara 10:11
If you feel as though you still aren't sure how to support those in your life who struggle with disordered eating, NEDIC has excellent resources on their website that are always just a click away. These articles include parent and caregiver guides to supporting youth with eating disorders, coping strategies for families and partners, helping and healing practices, and living with an eating disorder. What about brothers and sisters, all of which can be found under the Resources section of netic.
Malia 10:41
We have discussed some heavy topics in this podcast episode. This is just a reminder that if you or someone you know are struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating, you can seek support and resources from the National Eating Disorders Information Center Hotline at 1-866-633-4220. This is a toll free number. Additionally, you can seek support and resources at one of The Grove Youth Wellness hubs in either Guelph, Erin, Fergus, or Palmerston, Ontario. For hours and more information visit www.thegrovehubs.ca.
Kiara 11:20
That concludes our final episode of the eating disorder podcast series in collaboration with safe communities. We hope that you not only enjoyed but also found these episodes informative. Thank you for tuning in, take care of yourselves and we hope that you have a great day