Do the thinking for both of us

"suicide is an irrational act, but people engage in discussions about people who are temporarily suicidal as though they were making rational decisions and choices..."from: Suicide Barriers are Effective

One of the biggest misunderstandings in eating disorder treatment, in my opinion, is that the thoughts and behaviors are rational and part of free will.

Easy to be confused about that, since it SEEMS rational to worry about food and to use food as a cosmetic device and to have all sorts of magical thinking about eating - in a society that has made those things seem the height of virtue.

But the thoughts and behaviors of anorexia and bulimia are NOT rational. And until the last stages of recovery, patients really cannot be expected to be.

Until then, it's our job.

Comments

  1. I cannot agree with you more. Recently a doctor saw that on my paperwork I had marked "yes" to a past with "mental illness." He asked me to be specific, and when I told him, "I'm recovering from anorexia," he said dismissively, "oh...well, I wouldn't really classify that as mental illness."

    When it's a struggle to even get those in the medical field to recognize that its not just a diet or something, how can we ever expect to get anywhere?

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  2. It feels so rational most of the time. There are those moments when I step outside myself and realize that I'm not being rational with all of the ED related things.

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  3. I do think we are moving toward a time when compassionate care means not forcing patients to understand before we assure them environments where the body and brain get the healing they need to be rational again.

    And part of that is doctors who understand that the brain is located INSIDE the body and should be treated like other organs - with care.

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