by Winnie Leahy Although they may not seem it, eating disorders are much more common than one may think. They are also much more of a challenge than most people may think. They can target anyone, even if they aren’t critical, and they are extremely difficult to treat. Although, they are easier to control if you have a support system. In the article I read, To Treat an Eating Disorder-It Sometimes Takes Two, the psychologists conducted an emotional experiment based off of the emotions of eating disorders. The study focuses on women (although it is not just women who get disorders) and their romantic partners, which in this study, happen to be men. The experiment, run by Dr. Bulik and Donald H. Baucom, focuses on the romantic partner as a support system. The study took women with eating disorders and gave them individual therapy before introducing a partner as a support system. Once the partner was introduced, weight gain increased and anxiety, depression, and the dropout rate of the program all decreased significantly. By introducing the partners into therapy once a week, the women felt supported within their journeys. By introducing the partners, Bulik and Baucom were practicing the Maudsley approach. The Maudsley approach is when someone in group therapy brings their family to group once a week as a support system. The Maudsley approach has been proven effective by the study. Unfortunately, in a lot of eating disorder cases, most partners are unaware the disorder is even there. They are oblivious to the fact that their partner has an eating disorder, so they do nothing to help. Most men see the eating habits of women who struggle with a disorder as normal. They base what they see off of the negative stigma that surrounds women’s relationships with food, and figure it’s “a girl thing.” Most partners don’t understand what it takes to win a battle against an eating disorder. Although, Most partners want to help the other get through what they’re dealing with. It is not in their best interest for their partner to be unhappy and have to deal with it alone. Unfortunately, they simply don’t know what to do when faced with a difficult situation around food. The purpose of this experience was to see what would happen if they had the tools to use and knew how to approach a problem during a meal. It turns out, the results are extremely positive when you add the conflict into a healthy relationship. There are multiple reasons to why partners may have an effect on weight gain, but I think the biggest is that, a healthy relationship causes a healthy person. For example, one of the women tested was named, Lauren Hill. Lauren Hill had gone through her share of partners before settling on her husband. The one thing that all the partners who didn’t work out had in common was, that they were unsupportive in Lauren’s road to recovery. Some told her what her disorder didn’t want to hear, but what she had to hear in a brutally honest way that made her want to get better. Lauren tried to go into therapy after the awakening call, but it wasn't proving effective. It seemed that the road to Lauren’s recovery didn't really begin until she found a partner who was willing to learn her disorder and support her in her recovery. To me, this experiment is especially interesting because, I for one have been on the other side. I have seen someone struggle with an eating disorder and I have been the family part of the Maudsley approach. I have seen not only family being introduced into the intensive therapy for eating disorders, but I have also seen a romantic partner introduced as a way to give support when families seem to be the root of the problem. From my experience, the partners have been well trained and I found it interesting on how fast they were able to pick up on it. When asked the question, “Do you ever miss something? As in, are you ever oblivious to the problem?” most of the men responded that they were able to pick up on some issues that the women themselves couldn’t even pick up. And vice versa, they did miss some, but it was rare for either of them to miss the cues. They both said they were in it together and they had both gotten to know the difference between when the disorder was speaking vs when she was speaking up. Then, the woman was faced with the question, “Could you have done it without your husband?” She immediately said that in her family, most of the girls have developed eating disorders and that she was the only who had ever gotten help. She was 100% certain that it was because of her husband who told her the behavior was irregular and needed to be treated. In fact, most of the group said that they wouldn’t have made it to treatment, let alone outpatient, if it hadn’t been for their family or partner. Every single person agreed that they needed the push to get help, because it’s hard to admit you have the disorder once it has become part of you. People need the support just as much as they need the therapy. The study was one to prove that if one didn't have a solid support system, they would lose weight, anxiety and depression levels go up, and they are more likely to give up on the program. You can’t deal with eating disorders alone-and that’s why. Ellin, A. (2018, November 29). To Treat Eating Disorders, It Sometimes Takes Two. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/29/well/eat/eating-disorders-food-anorexia-bulimia-binge-partners-spouses-treatment.html?rref=collection/timestopic/Psychology and Psychologists&action=click&contentCollection=health®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=3&pgtype=collection https://www.addictioncampuses.com/blog/addiction-and-eating-disorders/
2 Comments
Jack Vigue
12/15/2018 07:18:31 am
I was very intrigued while reading this blog post, Winnie. Not only did I learn a lot, but I was also surprised by a lot of the facts you presented. Eating disorders are a large problem that needs to be addressed. I was specifically surprised by the study that Dr. Bulik and Donald H. Baucom conducted on relationships and support systems; the man disregarding the woman who has an eating disorder because he thinks it is just how girls act. This blog post was very well written and you chose a topic that you were passionate about- very apparent throughout the blog. I learned more about eating disorders by reading this blog post.
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Maddy Lestage
12/17/2018 08:03:35 am
Great job Winnie! I learned so many surprising facts while reading this blog-post. I knew that eating disorders were a problem, but I had no idea how much of a problem they really are. I was very surprised to read that in relationships, the man thinks that it is normal for the woman to have an eating disorder. You did a great job on this, nice job!
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