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[lovefromgirl]

Still more praise for the flipping Maudsley method

“It doesn’t work that way,” Ms. Brown said in an interview. “You need the physical recovery first, and then the cognitive recovery. The patient is racked with guilt, anxiety, feeling she’s fat and loathsome if she eats - it was our job to be louder and drown out those voices in her head.”Dear New

Comments

[ladybretagne]

Speaking as someone who hasn't dealt with ED specifically but has dealt with plenty of mental illness in my time, the idea that basically "forcing" someone to get better is going to work long term boggles me. It seems from reading the article that you're right, the effectiveness of this approach seems to be due to the fact that it creates a support structure for the patient (I wish there was a better word to use there. Suggestions?). Until someone is mentally and emotionally prepared to get better, it's not going to happen. And that's not going to happen until they know that, as you very rightly said, they are ultimately in charge of their lives and that their illness, whatever it is, doesn't have to be and shouldn't be the one in control. Something which takes therapy and love and time and encouragement and a safe space in which to work all of that out.

[lovefromgirl]

Don't get me wrong, I recognise the physical component in the mental. When you're undernourished, not much is going to make sense. However, nourishment doesn't have to go from zero to normal diet. Stomachs shrink. Systems adjust, including metabolism. The patient's body will suffer from a rapid refeeding; for fuck's sake, this is logic we had to employ at the end of World War II, with POWs and concentration camp inmates

[ladybretagne]

In the same way that someone who was self-injuring would need to be stopped from preventing further harm to themselves but would be given time to develop new coping mechanisms and then supported as they continue to recover, it seems like the most responsible way to handle someone dealing with any form of ED would be to take care of the immediately critical health concerns (making sure that they're receiving at least baseline nutrition on an ongoing basis but not expecting to be able to magically force "normal" eating habits) and then to address whatever the underlying emotional or psychological concerns are so that long term, meaningful recovery is possible

[lovefromgirl]

Love your tangent. Wonder if people realise just how addictive Xanax et al. really are? Had a doctor put me on benzos without telling me that. Seven years later... well.

Your entire first paragraph says what I would love to say to everyone who Doesn't Get It. ♥

And -- yes to the digging. Yes to being unconventional about it, while we're thinking about broadening horizons. What helps me nowadays? Self-administered art therapy. Writing. Music. What helped me then? -- Well, rebellion kind of powered the second recovery. Oops? But not oops, because I figured out what I was doing to myself and why. Therapist Twit was a mirror for me: in her, I could see everything I hated about ED-recovery culture, and I struck out on my own.

I look back now because I believe there is so much room for change.

[flawed_karma]

As with training dogs, you have to manage behavior before you can modify it. This is the most basic tenet of behavioral modification

[lovefromgirl]

Hey, that is a cool story. I love that you were able to make a difference (and, of course, your dog). :) You were louder than the voices telling her she was worthless. That is sheer awesome.

Also, I think I need to adopt some of that not-right vs. wrong thinking for myself.

[flawed_karma]

It's not so much I was louder. My voice just made more sense than the others. And that helps bludgeon those feeling of worthlessness and loss of control into silence