When we had a row about so-called 'healthy eating regimes'. Blog from 5.10.2011

Back in 2011, I began a blog - https://anorexiaboyrecovery.blogspot.com/ - about my teenage son's descent into and recovery from the eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, which he developed in 2009 (now fully recovered and training to be a psychologist). The aim was (and is) to show that boys get eating disorders too, as well as girls.

I am now serialising my blog here on my YouTube channel to help other parents struggling with an eating disorder in the family, to hopefully identify the eating disorder quicker, fast-track the huge learning curve and get their teenage son or daughter into treatment as quickly as possible.

Here I read the post from 5th October 2011: "When we had a row about so-called 'healthy eating regimes'."

***Warning: some people might find these videos triggering***

Website and forum for parents and carers of young people with anorexia and other eating disorders:

FEAST (the support network for parents & carers of young people with eating disorders): https://www.feast-ed.org/

Around The Dinner Table (FEAST's forum): https://www.feast-ed.org/around-the-dinner-table-forum/

You can read my blog here: https://anorexiaboyrecovery.blogspot.com/
Download free PDFs of my blog on my website: https://bevmattocks.co.uk/blogspdfs

To listen to chapters from my book “Please Eat... A mother's struggle to free her teenage son from anorexia”, read by the author Bev Mattocks, please visit the YouTube playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSLFzdkDbmLGliIoyuQoqg3pwoxH4IyuO

To purchase a copy of “Please Eat… A mother's struggle to free her teenage son from anorexia” for £9.99 (paperback) or £3.49 (Kindle) please visit: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0957511809

IMPORTANT NOTE: “Please Eat… A mother's struggle to free her teenage son from anorexia“ by Bev Mattocks is based on a combination of memories, journal notes, blog entries, forum posts and other material which the author compiled during the period that her son was suffering from anorexia, and the years that led up to his illness.

It is important to bear in mind that everything described on my blog and in my book is the author’s own personal recollection of events and the emotions she was feeling at the time. It is the sole expression and opinion of its author. Other people’s opinions, observations, memories, expression and recollections of the same events may differ. However, as far as the author can recollect, allowing for the natural fallibility of memory, all the events depicted here took place as described.

Writing about someone else’s life, especially your child’s life, is very different from writing about yourself. It needs to be approached with respect, compassion and sensitivity. When people ask what the author’s son thinks about this book, she explains that he has always been completely behind her. He is as keen as she is to raise awareness of eating disorders in boys and help other families that might be facing a similar situation. However, to protect his privacy, she has given her son a false name. Most of the other names used in this book are false, too.

Over the summer of 2012 as the author was putting this manuscript together, the author and her son went through it with a toothcomb. He made his own comments and observations, many of which have been incorporated into this book. As with the author’s own memories, one has to allow for impurities. But, to the best of our knowledge, this book tells their story, as it happened and in the way it happened.

Of course, the author is neither a clinician nor an expert; she is just an ordinary mum writing about the day-to-day experiences of living with a teenage boy recovering from anorexia. As a result, the information provided in this book is not meant to be used, nor should it ever be used, to diagnose or treat anorexia, bulimia, EDNOS or any other eating disorder or medical condition.

For diagnosis or treatment of anorexia, bulimia, EDNOS or any other eating disorder or medical problem, please consult your own physician.
Please note: the author does not endorse any specific eating disorder treatment approach or model.

Each individual is different, and the strategies used and outlined in this book may not be suitable for other families. Also, any references are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsement of any websites or other resources.