A Caregivers Perspective on Eating Disorder Stigma – Canada

 By Karen McBoyle

“She’s such a beautiful girl”,

“Why is she doing this to herself”

“Just tell her she has to eat”

“Maybe if she had some friends for dinner she would eat”

“Maybe if she got a job she wouldn’t be so bored and would feel better”

“Get her out of the house doing things”

On and on and on.  For 17 years now, slowly getting worse, and these comments come from family and friends that I have spent years educating about our loved one’s illness. Unless you live with this illness, understanding it seems impossible, and this MUST change.   Many people continue to believe (WRONGLY) that eating disorders are a choice, are a desire to look a certain way, are not wanting to grow up, are a result of over controlling parents (especially mothers). Many health professionals are not up     to date in their understanding and education of eating disorder research and treatments, which allows the disease to perpetuate, and yes, this is a disease.

Eating disorders are a brain-based, mental health disorder, with a genetic basis and often times in anorexia, activated by a period of low caloric intake/negative energy balance.

Why is this so hard to understand? If you look at documented mental health symptoms of starvation you would signs of a restrictive eating disorder.  An eating disorder is a severe mental health disorder encompassing every aspect of our loved  one’s life and that of our family. Do you think anyone would, by choice, live like this? As an adult, be unable to work or socialize, get married, have children? Do you think a person with an eating disorder enjoys watching their life slip away as their friends and siblings grow and prosper?

In Canada, treatment for eating disorders is haphazard. Lack of trained professionals, lack of treatment facilities/outpatient centers or support to families, long waiting lists; all this and more contribute to promoting readmission due to early discharges and ineffective outdated treatment. I truly believe that if the stigma around eating disorders was eradicated, people with eating disorders would be looked upon with respect and compassion, and receive treatment for their serious disorder and, as a result, there would be more education, funding and timely treatment available.

Let’s work together to elevate and promote evidence based knowledge about this terrible diseases and get rid of the social stigma around eating disorders.

About Karen
Karen McBoyle is the mother of a wonderful 34 year old daughter who has been suffering with
an eating disorder for 17 years. She is actively assisting her daughter in trying to get well. She is
an advocate for increased education, funding and timely treatment for this life threatening
condition. In addition she is a devoted wife, mom to another daughter and is happiest when
holding her young grandsons of three years and two months.