[jeneveve]

Has anyone every heard of this eating disorder? I am becoming convinced that my daughter has this. At 16, she wanted to lose a few pounds and became a vegetarian. She lost the desired weight and at 18 she became a vegan. She lost a lot more weight. Even being vegan wasn't enough, she became concerned about pesticides and fertilizers on the plants. She worries about fat, sugar etc. All of this under the guise of healthy eating and animal/environmental concerns. I don't think there is anything wrong with veganism. But if it is about healthy eating, she should be including all the essential nutrients in her diet.

She is 25 now and hardly eats anything. She is very thin but always keeps herself covered even in the summer. She thinks about food all the time but never eats even when you can see that she is hungry. She takes pride in the way she eats and I hate that this reinforces her diet restrictions.

It is starting to interfere with her relationships. She can't go out to eat with anyone unless it is a vegan restaurant which most people don't want. Or if she goes somewhere else, she gives explicit instructions about how to cook her food and what can be put on her plate. Then she won't eat it anyway because she thinks it has butter or salt or whatever. Her boyfriend left because he said he couldn't take the vegan thing anymore. He also said that she was always tellilng him how gross his food was and why he shouldn't eat it.

This has all transpired over 10 years and I am starting to get scared. I want to approach her with my concerns but I just don't know how. Is anyone else dealing with this? Any advice?

[eskielover]

I don't have any suggestions on how to help her.....& I definitely understand that it's a serious problem.

Unfortunately, I can sort of relate to how she's dealing with food....I hear things that say don't eat this or that & make sure you wash your food if you don't buy organic because the pestecides are known to be part of the causes for dementia & alzheimers......& of course there's sugar or not sugar & if you use the agave, then it's about triglicerides because it's fructose & not sucrose........or course, try to find a sausage product that doesn't have MSG in it.....or even if you would like any BBQ potato chips....only 1 or 2 brands don't have MSG......& MSG is another one of those contributors to dementia/Alsheimers & parkinsons. How much is the cause or how much would be the cause in my body????

Sometimes it's just easier to NOT EAT than worry that you are putting something harmful inside of you.....but not putting anything is just as harmful but it's harmful sooner than later.

It can definitely drive you crazy if you let it.....& unfortunately it sounds like your daughter has allowed that thinking to take over her whole life......& things are considered to be a problem when they make changes in our life that are harmful to our relationships & our life around us.

Maybe she doesn't care about loosing her BF? Maybe she has put more value on what she eats than on the people her life touches? I doubt that she would take well to a suggestion of going to therapy to help her put her thoughts together in a more healthy way especially if she doesn't see anything wrong with the way her life is going.

It's almost impossible to help people who don't feel there is a need to be helped......so I really don't know what to say about how to really help your daughter in the situation she is in......wish I had some magical solution.....maybe some understanding along with some other suggestions she might be more open to if there is understanding that goes along with it????? It's really hard to say......sorry.

[Kate9843123]

beating an disorder is not really possible unless the person wants help, but, another way to go about geting her to recognize that this might be a problem would be to try a nutrionist first....it sounds a bit less intimidating. if they say that she is malnurished maybe it will spark something with her. but honestly, talk to her. tell her your concerns, dont be forceful or stern but staying quiet and watching her do this to herself isn't going to help either...she might know somewhere inside her that this isn't good, but cant admit to it by herself, and for years it has been getting worse...it might be time to try something knew to see if it can get better. I know that you are in an impossible position...it is so hard whether to just let it play out or interfer, but you tried to let it play out...so the question is do you want to give it more time or get a knew game plan. best of luck to you and your daughter.
oh, it also could be an OCD issue...if she has become freaked of the contamination of the stuff in the food....but its hard to say because the two already overlap a lot.

[avoice]

Hi Yes I have heard of that eating disorder. Leaning more tords anorexia. my advice never give up on her. Mine came about in my 30des I tried all the things to lose weight. I would never come out of my room. 6 Times in treatments. She has to be ready i mean 100 percent ready or it won't work. It's a lot of hard work and you can's just say eat a sandwich. keep us posted