Eating Disorders & A New School Year

Eating disorders are serious health conditions that affect both your physical and mental health. Each condition involves extreme food and weight issues.

Here are strategies for parents to help their child adjust to going back to school while dealing with an eating disorder. 

Parents can help their children by doing the following:

1. Do not treat this problem as just an academic issue, but rather recognize the emotional roots of anorexia and bulimia.

2. Be open to feedback from teachers, counselors, and others who can help.

3. Continue to have your child regularly follow up with their mental health care provider, registered dietician, and therapist to address the anxiety that comes up surrounding starting school and attending school.

4. Talk to your daughter or son about what is underneath the disordered eating behavior, do not just focus on the eating patterns. If needed, this can be done with the help of a mental health professional. Do not force your child to be more involved or work harder in school, this can increase anxiety and need for control.

5. Talk about the issues and possible solutions to eating disorders with the whole family.

6. Be a good role model around food, take care of yourself, and be aware of negative body image talk in the home so it can be eliminated.

7. Recognize that recovery takes time and be patient.  Additional eating disorder information

Why Anxiety May Come

Students with an eating disorder deal with a lot of anxiety surrounding going back to school. There are many reasons for this including, but not limited to:

• The ability to eat intuitively throughout the day, or stick to a meal plan if they are on one.

• Having enough time to eat breakfast and lunch in a strict window of time, such as the lunch period.

• Packing enough food to stay fueled throughout the school day, and remembering to bring nutrient-rich foods to stay satiated.  

• Engaging in body comparison or food comparison while in school can cause a lapse in treatment and promote high anxiety.

• Academic pressures that might be unreasonable set on themselves and cause the student to lean into the eating disorder to try and gain a sense of control.  

How To Help

When situations of anxiety come here are some tips that can be helpful.

 - Bring and use your coping skills while at school. There are many things you can do to ground yourself that can be discreet and will not make you feel uncomfortable to do.

      - Find supports at school that you are comfortable being around and eating around.

- Set up a 504 plan if there are accommodations needed. Such as start eating in the nurse's office, or discussing certain classes. (A student is eligible for accommodations under Section 504 if the student has an intellectual or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more of a student's major life activities that impact education.) More 504 information

- Try to remember that recovery is more important than perfection in academics. Flexibility is important, so try to adjust classes and demands as needed to promote recovery and decrease anxiety. 

As a parent, you can help your child overcome the challenges that come with an eating disorder when you're not personally there.