The eating disorders child abuse can lead to in adult life have been well documented in medical literature. The child abuse eating disorders can stem from includes emotional, physical and sexual abuse. The eating disorders child abuse sometimes leads to can be very serious, even deadly, if survivors do not receive proper treatment.
It’s important to understand that not all eating disorders are caused by child abuse and child abuse does not always lead to the development of eating disorders. Just how common it is for adult survivors of child abuse to develop eating disorders is uncertain; since some adult survivors of child abuse have repressed the memories of their painful childhoods, it’s difficult to determine just how many people with eating disorders were abused in childhood.
Types of Child Abuse
The child abuse eating disorders often stem from includes emotional abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse. It’s important to understand that the term “child abuse” covers a wide range of harmful behavior. Also remember that when children are abused, the abusers are most often someone the child knows and should be able to trust, such as a family member or close family friend.
Emotional abuse includes:
- Teasing
- Insults
- Threats
- Criticism
- Unreasonable demands
- Rejection
- Emotional abandonment
Physical abuse includes:
- Hitting
- Pushing
- Kicking
- Shaking (remember, shaking a baby can be deadly)
- Burning
- Restraining (such as tying someone to a bed or chair)
- Locking someone in a small space
- Failing to provide the necessities of life, like food, clothing and medical care
Sexual abuse includes:
- Kissing or touching in a sexual way
- Oral and anal sex
- Vaginal intercourse and penetration with objects
- Forcing a child to watch adults engaged in sexual behavior
- Forcing a child to view pornographic material
- Taking pornographic photos or videos of a child
Why Child Abuse Eating Disorders Develop
The eating disorders child abuse can lead to include anorexia, bulimia and compulsive eating. There are a number of reasons that survivors of child abuse may develop eating disorders.
- Some survivors of child abuse believe, either consciously or subconsciously, that if they are very thin or very overweight, they will be unattractive to people that might otherwise abuse them sexually. They may also feel that carrying extra weight gives them a layer of protection against being hurt or mistreated.
- Some survivors find binge eating to help numb their feelings. They may also find food brings them comfort.
- Still others find that restricting calories or purging after a binge gives them a sense of control, which may be welcomed when they had so little control over their lives during the time they were being abused.
- Some survivors get a sense of relief after purging or find it to be a way of releasing or expressing emotions they otherwise feel they have to keep inside.
- Withholding food may be a way for survivors to punish themselves if they feel guilty about the abuse or otherwise feel angry at themselves.
The reasons child abuse eating disorders develop are many, varied and complex. These are just a few of the reasons but they may not apply to all survivors that have eating disorders. Often there are numerous contributing factors and survivors may not understand themselves why they developed eating disorders.
Repressed Memories
Some survivors repress the memories of the child abuse eating disorders stem from. There has been some controversy over the idea of repressed memories of childhood abuse but many survivors report recovered memories during adulthood. In addition, many mental health care professionals accept the idea of repressed memories and consider repression of memories to be a commonly used coping technique for children that are overwhelmed by abuse and don’t know any other way to cope.
Symptoms of child abuse eating disorders may worsen when survivors begin to recover memories of abuse. Survivors in the process of recovering from eating disorders may begin to recover repressed memories when they can no longer rely on their eating disorders to block out painful emotions.
When survivors begin to recover repressed memories, they may experience a wide range of feelings and sensations, including:
- Depression
- Crying spells
- Anxiety and panic attacks
- Nightmares
- Flashbacks
- Physical sensations, sometimes referred to as “body memories”
- Hopelessness
- Confusion
- Denial
- Disbelief
- Guilt and shame
- Fear
- Anger
- Feelings of being crazy
- Feeling numb
- Feeling dirty
- Wanting to isolate themselves from others
- Nausea and vomiting
- Thoughts of self-harm or suicide
The eating disorders child abuse can lead to are destructive ways of coping, but they are a way some survivors of abuse have managed to cope with the abuse. The idea of recovery from eating disorders can be very scary because survivors may not know any other ways to cope with painful emotions.
People dealing with the eating disorders child abuse causes need to be treated by professionals experienced in treating both eating disorders and survivors of child abuse. In some cases, inpatient treatment may be needed for a period of time. Therapists should not push survivors to talk about child abuse but should let their clients set the pace. Survivors should be reassured that it is safe to talk about the abuse in therapy, however. Therapists should also never try to push clients to remember abuse.
If you or someone you love is struggling with eating disorders child abuse has caused, please seek professional help. You do not deserve to suffer any longer and help is available.
You can learn more about the relationship between emotional, physical or sexual abuse and eating disorders by following the link.
Written by: Colleen Thompson
Resources:
-The Body Betrayed: A Deeper Understanding of Women, Eating Disorders, and Treatment by Katheryn J. Zerbe, M.D. – Gurze Books, 1995
-The Courage To Heal by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis – Harper and Row Publishers, NY 1998
-Special thank you to Michelle for writing “The Transformation.”
-Memory and Abuse – Remembering and Healing The Effects of Trauma by Charles L. Whitfield, M.D., Health Communications Inc. Fl 1995