Navigating an Education When Your Child has an Eating Disorder
When our daughter developed an eating disorder at 15, her educational trajectory was suddenly no longer predictable or inevitable. She stopped completing assignments, and often lay in bed refusing to go to school. In one year’s…
One Mom’s Journey from Denial to Advocacy
When my beautiful daughter was diagnosed with severe anorexia in 2013, I was gobsmacked. I came up with a hundred irrational rationalizations and alternative reasons for her severe weight loss. But, soon enough our new reality sank in: this…
The Journey to Recovery: Advice by and for Parents of Children Recovering from an Eating Disorder
There is no ‘quick fix’There’s no easy solution to an eating disorder, and the road to recovery can be exhausting. Prepare for it like you would any journey: build a good team, educate yourself, ask for help when you need it, and always…
#NEDAwareness Wisdom for Parents!
During NEDAwareness Week, we asked parents to share messages of hope and encouragement about supporting your child through the process of recovery from an eating disorder by using the hashtag #NEDAwareness so parents everywhere can benefit from…
One Mom’s Personal Journey
Our daughter was in high school when, in what seemed like out of nowhere, an eating disorder crept into her life and slowly took over. Gradually it strengthened its insidious hold on her and as it did, it pushed happiness away and her joyful…
Recovery Dad & Recovery Girl: Fighting Eating Disorders, One Bite at a Time
Eating disorders can be terrifying, confusing, and, perhaps worst of all, lonely.First comes the diagnosis, and probably some scary news from the doctor. In our case it was Anorexia Nervosa. Nothing about dealing with it is remotely intuitive.…
“Denied” – A Story About Insurance Companies and Mental Health
In a story about the complex world of mental health and insurance, called “Denied,” 60 Minutes anchor, Scott Pelley interviewed Nancy West. Nancy, who is a friend of NEDA, shared the tragic story of her daughter Katherine’s death as a…
The Ghost of ED… Past, Present and Future
AshtynFor a holiday that surrounds itself around a feast, it can get pretty overwhelming. But I know that I can get up, take a breather, call my therapist or dietician and leave a message, or do some other skill that I’ve learned during my…
Jenni Schaefer: Passing the Recovery Baton
Family members play an integral role in supporting their love one's recovery. During the Friends & Family Kick-Off Dinner to open the NEDA Conference last week in San Antonio, TX, this idea was thoroughly explored through a "Friends &…
Actually, Telling Your Child She (or He) is Fat is Not the Best Thing Ever
This week, Time published an online article entitled in its “Ideas” section, “My Mother Told Me I Was Fat, and It Was the Best Thing Ever” in which author Charlotte Alter recounts a conversation her mom had with her at the age of twelve…