Mark Wheeler, “hard to Swallow” - Problem Page Letter

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causing people to obsess about weight and what they eat. It is life threatening because the person suffering from the disease does not realise how skinny she actually is so she stops eating in order to lose weight and that makes the body not get enough nutrients or fats therefor the person is more exposed to other diseases and gets sick more easily. Anorexic people suffer from the fear of gaining weight and image disorder, for example you might be so skinny but when you look at the mirror you see yourself as if you were fat.

All of the habits Catherine has picked up are all signs of anorexia such as cutting her food into tiny pieces and wanting to eat alone. Catherine might be wanting to eat alone because she feels ashamed of what other people might think of her, she might also feel uncomfortable eating in front of other people because they might try and make her eat more or point out her eating habits.

I hope that I have clarified what your daughter might be suffering of. I know you must be extremely worried and probably don’t know what to do. There isn’t much that I can do about this however I can recommend the following.

Medical treatment. If malnutrition or starvation has started to break down her body, medical treatment will be a top priority. Her doctor will treat the medical conditions that have been caused by anorexia, such as osteoporosis, heart problems, or depression. As she begins to get better, her doctor will continue to follow her health and weight.

Nutritional counseling. A registered dietitian will help her take charge of her weight in a healthy way. She will learn healthy eating patterns and gain a good understanding of nutrition.

Therapy. Talking with a psychologist or mental health professional will help her cope with the emotional reasons behind anorexia. For example, she may discuss life stresses, unhelpful beliefs about food and weight, or certain personality traits that may be, in part, causing anorexia.

This is going to be a rough time for Catherine and it is very important that all of your family are supportive and sympathetic towards Catherine. You have to be cognizant that there is something wrong with Catherine and you can’t push her to do something that she wouldn’t like to do. I hope that with this, you have learned more about what is going on with your daughter and that she gets better soon.

Yours sincerely,

Agony Aunt