Eating Disorders and Family

Eating Disorders and Family Name Institutional Affiliation Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u 1.0 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc14893922 \h 32.0 Eating Disorders PAGEREF _Toc14893923 \h 43.0 Relationship between Family and Eating Disorders PAGEREF _Toc14893924 \h 64.0 Family-Based Treatment for Eating Disorders PAGEREF _Toc14893925 \h 84.1 Psychosomatic Approach PAGEREF _Toc14893926 \h 94.2 Family Empowerment PAGEREF _Toc14893927 \h 94.3 Family-Based Treatment PAGEREF _Toc14893928 \h 105.0 Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc14893929 \h 11References PAGEREF _Toc14893930 \h 13 Eating Disorders and Family 1.0 Introduction Eating disorders continue to afflict many families and are common among adult and adolescent women, and sometimes men, compromising their wellbeing and general quality of life. Besides genetics and personality traits, eating disorders are often complex, chronic, and biopsychosocial conditions caused by multiple family and environmental factors interacting in a complex way to create and maintain the conditions. The Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) classifies anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa as well as other variants of eating disorders as serious mental illnesses that are significantly heritable (Klump, Bulik, Kaye, Treasure, & Tyson, 2009). However, eating disorders are yet to be considered as serious forms of mental disorders in some countries in the world. This failure to acknowledge the seriousness of these conditions has led to a healthcare crisis for the afflicted and their families (Klump et al., 2009). A study by Haworth-Hoeppner (2000) contributes to earlier findings that culture and family have a role to play in the etiology of eating disorders. The study explores how a family can mediate cultural perspectives about thinness and how families become a medium of conveying such ideas to family members (Haworth-Hoeppner, 2000). Recognizing the role of the family in the development of eating disorders, the Maudsley method or family-based treatments (FBT) have been recommended for treating eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorders (Lock & le Grange, 2007). This paper explores the relationship between eating disorders and family and proposes family-based treatments as effective approaches to treating the conditions. 2.0 Eating Disorders Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating are the most common eating disorders affecting adolescent and adult women and to some extent men. Studies have shown that families tend to be affected by these kinds of disorders differently. Individuals with anorexia nervosa follow a restricted routine of energy intake, resulting in a bodyweight that is significantly low in comparison to their age, sex, physical health, and development trajectory. Most of these individuals have an extreme fear of becoming fat or gaining weight, even when their current weight is significantly low (Mehler et al. n.d). Whereas their family members may try to encourage these individuals to change their eating habits, these individuals fail to recognize the seriousness of their size and weight. Individuals with anorexia nervosa increasingly engage in binge eating, followed by a purging behavior that involves self-induced vomiting. This also includes the misuse of diuretics, laxatives, or enemas (Module 1, ppt). Most victims with this disorder deny they have the problem or lack insight about the attributes of the disease. Scholars have shown that most individuals with this condition have a psychological imbalance, and this tends to have a severe impact on the entire family (Douzenis & Michopoulos, 2015). Family members who care for individuals with anorexia nervosa are often exposed to a wider range of psychological disorders, and they may end up experiencing anxiety, stress, and depression. Although most psychological challenges caused by malnutrition can be reversed using nutritional rehabilitation, some conditions such as loss of the density of bone mineral marrow are very difficult to reverse. Individuals who are severely underweight usually develop depressive symptoms, including irritability, depressed mood, insomnia, social withdrawal, and lack of interest in sex. Undernourished individuals also possess the above features, and any progression of these symptoms may warrant an investigation of a major depressive disorder (Polivy & Herman, 1985). Anorexia nervosa patients may require hospitalization to regain weight and the treatment of any medical complications. Studies have shown that individuals who recover from anorexia nervosa may experience remission within five years. Therefore, families are tasked with the role of caring for individuals with eating disorders and ensuring that a full recovery is attained in order to prevent a decline. Without careful management, death can occur due to medical complications related to anorexia or even from suicide. Conversely, bulimia nervosa patients may commonly engage in binge eating. Individuals with bulimia nervosa usually consume more food in a single sitting than an average individual. In most families, individuals with bulimia nervosa are unable to control the amount of food they consume during a specific period. They may also engage in self-induced vomiting to avoid gaining weight. Families can play an instrumental role in influencing these individuals to restrict the number of calories they consume, and they may also avoid high-calorie foods that may be fattening (Douzenis & Michopoulos, 2015). People may become dependent on laxative to arouse bowel movements. Binge eating often occurs when an individual experiences episodes of stressful events in his life. Studies in various families have shown that bulimia nervosa can persist for many years, especially when an individual is exposed to continuous stressful events. The course of disturbed eating can be intermittent or chronic, and an individual can experience instances of remission even after recovering from this condition (Fairburn, Cooper & Shafran, 2003). Evidence indicates that remission periods that occur after one year acts as an indication of better recovery and outcome in the long run. The risks of mortality are elevated when bulimia nervosa remains untreated for an extended period. Binge eating is a common eating disorder when an individual consumes excessive amount of food in a single sitting compared to the amount of food that is consumed by ordinary individuals. The kind of family which a person is brought up in can influence binge eating. For instance, in well up families where food is in plenty can influence an individual to consume excessive amount of foods. This ultimately leads to binge eating since an individual is not limited to eating the amount of food he wants. Furthermore, family practices play a huge role in influencing eating habits (Wonderlich, Brewerton, Jocic, Dansky & Abbott, 1997). For instance, there are families where meals are only consumed during certain times of the day and from specific locations, which is the dining room. However, in other families, individuals can eat while watching television and consume any time they want, and this increases the risks of binge eating. This is because unregulated consumption implies that a person cannot limit the amount of food that he has consumed. 3.0 Relationship between Family and Eating Disorders Anorexia nervosa is largely a multi-determined illness with personal, family, and cultural causes (Garner & Garfinkel, 1980). The mounting concerns with body image and shape relate to the psychopathology that pushes vulnerable adolescents below the threshold of menstrual weight and subsequent expression of anorexia nervosa. In families and subcultures that augment the pressures to remain slim and diet, there is a greater expression of the disorder among vulnerable adolescents. Garner and Garfinkel (1980) show that parental personality features, family interaction patterns, and parental perceptions towards shape, fitness, and weight control can be potential predisposing factors in the development of eating disorders. In addition, other scholars have examined the association between child maltreatment to emotional dysfunction and the development of eating pathology. In particular Burns, Fischer, Jackson, and Harding (2012) have identified that childhood emotional abuse (CEA) has a unique impact on emotional dysfunction and subsequent development of symptoms of eating disorders. In families where children experience emotional and psychological abuse, evidence indicates that there is an increased risk of the development of eating disorders when they become young adults. Furthermore, emotional and physical abuse, which also includes sexual abuse, tend to contribute to negative developmental outcomes, which can lead to eating disorders among these young people. Studies show that children may engage in binge eating as a means of trying to run away from the trauma he/she faced while growing up (Burns, Fischer, Jackson, & Harding, 2012). In addition, children who were sexually and emotionally abused by their families may end up suffering from anorexia nervosa. This is because such children may refuse to eat since they not only hate themselves, but also due to the fact that they are suffering from an emotional breakdown. Scholars have also proved the...