Eating disorders family background and psychological factors

Family background and eating disorders

Once, even professionals believed that the family was the primary cause for a child's eating disorder. Different families have different attitudes toward food - some overfeed, some constantly criticize "imperfections." There's probably no one type that is more likely to contribute to disordered eating, but families where there is emotional turbulence or abuse can factor into the development of eating disorders.

Likewise, families that are too rigid in their own need for perfection can contribute to a child feeling inadequate, as can families that are too distant to give proper attention to a child. Any of these family factors can play a part in the development of an eating disorder. There are changes that families can make to relieve the kinds of pressure that can promote eating disorders. One simple way for parents to influence their children's eating habits and to prevent weight problems and eating disorders, according to some research, is to have healthy eating habits themselves. Having frequent family meals together also helps support positive food-related experiences.

Think about it: If your mother keeps wanting you to "clean your plate," you might react by overeating or rebel against it and refuse to eat. If your dad makes disparaging comments about your chubby cheeks, you might want to get rid of them, to please him, or you might want to get chubbier, to make him mad. A boy who's expected to be the "man of the family" might feel he needs to eat a lot to be large enough for that role - or might eat less because he's not ready for the role. What are the food facts of your family? If you feel that you're making eating decisions in overreaction to family patterns, you might want to take a look at how your emotions may lead to unhealthy eating habits.

Psychological factors and eating disorders

Whatever the source of the psychological needs, control and comfort are the two words that probably best sum up the needs that are filled by eating disorders. Trauma - a big upset or long-term turbulence in life - can influence someone to do whatever they can to bring control to life, and food and weight can be easy targets for control. Undereating and overeating have been shown to activate calming brain chemicals, which may be why those experiencing emotional pain turn to these eating patterns. "Mastery" is also an important aspect of eating-disorder psychology. This is the sense that one can reach an achievement that others can't - even if that "achievement" is a too-strict diet.

Personalities. According to psychologists at the National Institute of Mental Health, most people with eating disorders share these personality characteristics: low self-esteem, perfectionism, feelings of helplessness, and anxiety. They have overly high expectations and have "all-or-nothing" thinking patterns. Can you see how these traits connect to overcontrol of eating? The problem is, disordered eating patterns aren't triggered by these characteristics, but they may make it more difficult to recover.

Emotional causes. Anger and other emotions that are not expressed easily can feed a disorder. In fact, therapists believe that eating disorders are more about trying to relieve uncomfortable feelings and solving life problems than they are about food. The person often is afraid to express these emotions verbally and directly, so he or she does it indirectly through disordered eating patterns. For some, a strong emotion will trigger an eating binge. Others may overeat to mask and numb-out difficult emotions. Non-eaters are able to feel something, even if it's physical pain, which may be easier to deal with than their actual emotions.

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