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safe to say i think she has an eating disorder
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 378413" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>She needs to really understand the physiological symptoms and processes of anxiety. difficult child 3 has difficulty understanding this. Often a child who is chronically stressed tends to mentally separate the physical from the emotional, and when the physical symptoms of emotional conditions appear, the kid assumes the problem is a physical one and responds accordingly. </p><p></p><p>I suspect she is experiencing a lot of emotional distress (including anxiety and probably some sadness and depression) and is aware of the tight throat feeling you can get in these circumstances, and it makes her feel as if she is really choking, when of course we know she is not. Helping her relax and learn to control her own anxiety (meditation, visualisation) can help. But she also needs to re-connect her emotions to her body, so she can more correctly identify the physical symptoms.</p><p></p><p>difficult child 3 can get nauseous and vomit due to anxiety. He got so anxious one day (I knew he was anxious - it was because of where we were) that he told me he knew something bad was happening, and he was dying. He said he was desperately ill and in danger of dying. He was convinced. He was even running a low-grade fever (which we know he can do, when extremely anxious). Even though I told him his symptoms were all explainable by anxiety, he couldn't accept this. "Anxiety alone could not make me feel this bad," he said.</p><p></p><p>But as we drove away from the place later on, he began to feel better. I think he at last began to realise, at least a little, that anxiety CAN make you feel this bad.</p><p></p><p>Your daughter doesn't sound like she has anorexia YET. But she is on the edge of it and can easily tip over. Her main problem is, I feel, anxiety. So in the meantime, if you can help her by getting her to verbalise her emotions (especially anxiety) and also help her understand how our bodies physically express anxiety, that might help. </p><p></p><p>Don't force nourishment into her if she is really concerned, try not to make too huge a thing about this (although I know you must be feeling desperate - don't show it to much, you will make her anxiety worse) you could tip things more towards anorexia. But if she is willing to try the protein shake stuff, that is a good sign. When she does eat, it is not the stuff a budding anorexic would eat. </p><p></p><p>Just keep reassuring her, keep her feeling safe, ease up on the pressure and focus on water. Water with sugar in it will get calories and fluid into her. Avoid carbonated drinks, they make you feel full and can aggravate throat feelings. Also avoid milk unless she seems OK with it. Keep it to small frequent sips. Let her sleep if she needs to - it will conserve energy and fluid. Watch her for signs of dehydration (check the skin on the back of her hand - how quickly does it spring back if you pinch up a fold?) and get her to the ER if it looks like she is showing serious dehydration.</p><p></p><p>Here's hoping she can calm down enough for her throat to feel better. Also get her throat checked out for a possible grumbling low-grade tonsillitis. Sometimes te answer can be surprising.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 378413, member: 1991"] She needs to really understand the physiological symptoms and processes of anxiety. difficult child 3 has difficulty understanding this. Often a child who is chronically stressed tends to mentally separate the physical from the emotional, and when the physical symptoms of emotional conditions appear, the kid assumes the problem is a physical one and responds accordingly. I suspect she is experiencing a lot of emotional distress (including anxiety and probably some sadness and depression) and is aware of the tight throat feeling you can get in these circumstances, and it makes her feel as if she is really choking, when of course we know she is not. Helping her relax and learn to control her own anxiety (meditation, visualisation) can help. But she also needs to re-connect her emotions to her body, so she can more correctly identify the physical symptoms. difficult child 3 can get nauseous and vomit due to anxiety. He got so anxious one day (I knew he was anxious - it was because of where we were) that he told me he knew something bad was happening, and he was dying. He said he was desperately ill and in danger of dying. He was convinced. He was even running a low-grade fever (which we know he can do, when extremely anxious). Even though I told him his symptoms were all explainable by anxiety, he couldn't accept this. "Anxiety alone could not make me feel this bad," he said. But as we drove away from the place later on, he began to feel better. I think he at last began to realise, at least a little, that anxiety CAN make you feel this bad. Your daughter doesn't sound like she has anorexia YET. But she is on the edge of it and can easily tip over. Her main problem is, I feel, anxiety. So in the meantime, if you can help her by getting her to verbalise her emotions (especially anxiety) and also help her understand how our bodies physically express anxiety, that might help. Don't force nourishment into her if she is really concerned, try not to make too huge a thing about this (although I know you must be feeling desperate - don't show it to much, you will make her anxiety worse) you could tip things more towards anorexia. But if she is willing to try the protein shake stuff, that is a good sign. When she does eat, it is not the stuff a budding anorexic would eat. Just keep reassuring her, keep her feeling safe, ease up on the pressure and focus on water. Water with sugar in it will get calories and fluid into her. Avoid carbonated drinks, they make you feel full and can aggravate throat feelings. Also avoid milk unless she seems OK with it. Keep it to small frequent sips. Let her sleep if she needs to - it will conserve energy and fluid. Watch her for signs of dehydration (check the skin on the back of her hand - how quickly does it spring back if you pinch up a fold?) and get her to the ER if it looks like she is showing serious dehydration. Here's hoping she can calm down enough for her throat to feel better. Also get her throat checked out for a possible grumbling low-grade tonsillitis. Sometimes te answer can be surprising. Marg [/QUOTE]
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safe to say i think she has an eating disorder
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