Teachers

Tackling the eating disorders taboo in school

Many school staff that I’ve worked with have told me that in their school eating disorders were a taboo topic either because the school was loathe to admit there was a problem or because they’re worried that talking about eating disorders will lead to an epidemic. Other staff simply feel uncomfortable or out of their depth when talking about mental health issues.

We must get more comfortable talking about eating disorders

In order to effectively support young people with eating disorders at your school, it’s important that the taboo is tackled. We simply must get more comfortable talking about eating disorders, not doing so can cost lives as I discovered when talking to a PE teacher:

“…Everything came to a head one day when she collapsed at school. She was rushed to hospital but there was nothing they could do. She died of a heart attack. It turned out that there were five or six members of staff, myself included, who’d been worried about her but we all assumed that someone else was taking care of it – it wasn’t exactly the kind of thing we discussed in the staffroom. We’ve since created a policy and we now routinely discuss children whose mental health is a cause for concern.”

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Teaching pupils about eating disorders

Teaching pupils about eating disorders won’t mean they develop one

There is a much perpetrated myth that teaching young people about eating disorders will make them many times more likely to develop one. This simply isn’t true. Eating disorders are highly complex mental health illnesses and not something which will simply develop overnight as a result of a PSHE lesson. Teaching young people (and their teachers) about eating disorders may make the incidence of eating disorders appear to increase within your school, but that is because cases which may have previously gone unrecognised may now be picked up. That is a good thing as it means these young people who had previously slipped below the radar are now receiving much needed support.

Pupils will realise you are knowledgeable and think it’s an important topic

A key benefit of taking the time to teach your students about eating disorders is that this will make them realise that you think eating disorders are an important topic, and one that concerns you. It will also help them to realise that you are knowledgeable on the topic as long as you have prepared appropriately. Read the rest of this entry »

Overcoming pupil objections to informing parents about their eating disorder

A good relationship with parents can make a huge difference when you’re supporting a pupil with an eating disorder. The pupil, their parents and the school should all be working together towards the common goal of helping the pupil to recover. However, pupils are often reluctant for their parents to be informed and involved for a variety of reasons.

Listen carefully to objections

In most instances, it is important to overcome the pupil’s objections so that parents can be involved in their recovery, however, it is important to listen carefully to their objections before dismissing them because very occasionally they may present a valid reason why a parent should not be informed. For instance, their eating disorder may be in response to abuse they are suffering at home. Here are some suggestions for overcoming common objections you’re likely to face:

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Healthy weight loss can put young people at risk of anorexia

There are a wide range of risk factors for eating disorders including social, personality and family factors that I’ve discussed before, but I’ve not discussed one of the most obvious ones. Weight loss. You might think that weight loss is a symptom of rather than a precursor to anorexia and in many cases you’d be absolutely right. But it is also not uncommon for healthy weight loss to go on to trigger an eating disorder.

Diets can go too far

As you’ll be well aware, it is very common for young people to diet. Occasionally a young person will successfully stick to a diet and may end up taking their diet too far which can result in the development of an eating disorder.

Positive feedback

One of the reasons that diets occasionally get taken too far and go beyond healthy weight loss is because of the positive feedback that dieters receive. Particularly if they were noticeably overweight to start with they are likely to receive a large amount of positive feedback from family and peers about their new healthier appearance. Read the rest of this entry »

Mealtimes: 10 ideas for supporting recovering anorexics

Parents and teachers of young people recovering from an eating disorder often find themselves in a situation where they want to offer support at mealtimes, but they don’t know how best to help. It will depend entirely on the individual and, as long as they are well enough, you should always be guided by the young person in question, but here are ten suggestions to help you on your way.

Think about meal timings and locations

The school lunch hall or cafeteria can be a difficult place for a recovering anorexic to spend time in. You should never insist that their meals are taken there, even if it is your school’s usual policy. Perhaps your school has more than one lunch sitting and the pupil would feel okay in the cafeteria at a time when their peers aren’t there, or perhaps you should find somewhere different altogether such as a classroom.

Trust them to keep their own food diary

Many recovering anorexics are expected to keep a food diary. It can be very tempting to complete this on their behalf because you know what they have eaten and are keen to ensure that it is recorded accurately. However, it can be an important show of trust to allow the pupil to complete their own food diary. Of course, if you have reason to suspect it is wildly inaccurate then consider again!

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5 useful phrases when talking to someone with an eating disorder

It can be difficult to know what to say when you’re talking to someone with an eating disorder, especially if you’re discussing the eating disorder itself. Many of us fear that using the wrong words will make things worse and it’s common to shy away from saying much at all. But if you put yourself in the shoes of the sufferer you’ll realise that would make for a lonely existence. There are things that you can say that are useful. Here are a few…

“How can I help you?”

It’s really, really hard to know how to help someone with an eating disorder. Maybe you’ve been wracking your brain to no avail. Well here’s a secret… the best way to find out is to ask them. This can be a real conversation starter and you’ll be amazed at some of the suggestions you’ll get back, anything from, “Sit with me when I eat, but please don’t talk” to “Don’t pretend there’s nothing wrong with me” to “Just keep asking, it’s helpful to know you care.” Don’t ask unless you’re genuinely willing to help and support though. Read the rest of this entry »

Practical Listening Skills when talking to someone with an eating disorder

If a young person chooses to talk to you about their eating disorder, it’s a real sign of trust and it demonstrates that they’re ready to be listened to. The most important thing you can do is provide them with the opportunity to talk. No one expects you to know all the answers, but simply by actively listening you’re doing a really important job.

This post gives you a few ideas to make sure you’re listening as effectively as possible.

Make sure there’s no time pressure

A pupil will have to build up quite a lot of courage to have a conversation with you about their eating disorder, so if you suddenly have to dash off to do lunch duty after five minutes it can really shake their confidence. Although you may legitimately need to be somewhere else, the eating disorder is likely to make the pupil interpret the situation negatively and assume that you aren’t interested in what they have to say or you don’t want to help them or are disgusted by them. Read the rest of this entry »

The importance of early detection of eating disorders

You wouldn’t ignore a broken leg - please don’t ignore eating disorders either

There are several reasons why it is advantageous to detect, support and treat eating disorders cases as early as possible and to help you understand them I’ll bring you back to my trusty broken leg analogy.

If a pupil had a broken leg and it went unnoticed and untreated, a few things would happen:

The injury would cause pain and suffering in the short term
The injury would prevent the pupil from participating in sport and athletics until it was treated
The pain of the injury would distract the pupil from their academic work and make them less inclined to socialise
The injury would worsen, perhaps healing incorrectly, meaning that there might be a need for more serious intervention in the long term such as an operation or a long course of physiotherapy
The pupil may never fully recover from the injury, perhaps being prone to further breaks, or being left with a limp

And it’s almost exactly the same with an eating disorder. Like a broken leg, if it’s picked up right at the start and treated appropriately, the chances are that the pupil will make a fairly quick and full recovery, but left untreated, the impact of an eating disorder both short and long term worsens. Read the rest of this entry »

10 Binge Eating Disorder Warning Signs

None of these warning signs on its own means that a young person has binge eating disorder but if they are exhibiting several of these signs then you are right to be concerned.

Rapid weight increase / weight fluctuation

Due to the vast amount of calories consumed during a binge, a binge eater will tend to gain weight very rapidly. As binge eating tends to be worse at periods when the sufferer is struggling, perhaps due to pressures at school or at home, their weight may plateau at times when they are finding things easier, then rapidly increase next time they go through a difficult patch and resort to binging.

Eats alone

Binge eaters can often feel very embarrassed about eating and may make an effort to eat alone. They are unable to control their urge to eat but are usually keenly aware that they are overweight and feel that they should be eating less, so they will often do it in private away from prying eyes which they often assume will be judging them. Read the rest of this entry »

Understanding Barriers to Eating Disorder Disclosures in School

As well as you or your colleagues picking up on eating disorders warning signs, it is also possible that pupils will raise concerns about a peer if they’re worried, or a pupil may even talk directly to a teacher or other member of school staff if they’re concerned about themselves.

Whilst knowing the risk factors and warning signs is a real help in spotting problems, there is nothing more reliable than a disclosure from a pupil or their peers. But unfortunately, our research has shown that less than 10% of pupils would feel confident in talking to a member of staff at school about their problems – for a range of different reasons. By understanding these reasons and thinking about whether they apply to your school, you can begin to think about how you might put measures in place to overcome these barriers and make pupils more likely to confide in a teacher about their concerns. This is vital because if a pupil or their peers disclose their concerns to you about a possible eating disorder (or other mental health issues for that matter) you will be in an excellent position to offer early help and the best possible support. Read the rest of this entry »