Eating Disorders in Adult Women
Martina Verba, LCSW, MPH
Many of us experience a sense of urgency and a responsibility to respond when we see a girl or young woman in harm’s way, even if there is a sense that the harm is self-inflicted. When mature adults behave in ways that are self-harmful, we are prone to give them room to deal with the problem or respond with frustration that they are not taking care of the problem. Eating disorders, however, are not problems that can be addressed in isolation. Older women, who do get into treatment, may experience an enhanced sense of motivation due to a heightened awareness of the psychological, physical and even financial costs of their disorders. Treatment professionals and loved ones need to recognize that these women may have difficulties in prioritizing their own treatment needs, and offer support, encouragement, and even loving pressure to access the help they need and deserve.st to treat it.
Epstein, R. H. (2009, July 7). When Eating Disorders Strike in Midlife. New York Times.
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Often when I tell people that I am an eating disorders therapist, I am asked the question, “Do you work mostly with teenagers?” This question reveals the common assumption that eating disorders are problems that occur only among teenagers and young adults. People are often surprised to hear that as an eating disorders therapist, I have worked not only with patients in their teens, but also those in their 60s and 70s. and deserve.
Though eating disorders most often develop in girls and women in their teens or 20s, studies have shown that the incidence of eating disorders among women over 40 has risen during the past 10 years. Several prominent treatment centers have reported significant increases in the number of admissions of women over 40, and new programs are being developed to meet the specific needs of this population, the New York Times reported this past July. These specialized programs offer older patients with eating disorders the opportunity to connect with women who feel more like their peers than, perhaps, their daughters. This support network of peers is especially important, given the tendency among women with eating disorders to focus on taking care of others, to the detriment of their own needs. care.
In this group of women over 40, some are new to eating disorders, but a higher number developed their eating disorders at younger ages and have never received treatment or have not recovered, despite treatment. This population also includes women, who, after years in recovery, relapse in later life. While shame is an element common to women with eating disorders of all ages, women over 40 may carry particular sources of shame, which may, in turn, interfere with efforts to seek help. Women who newly develop the disorder may feel like anomalies, since it is a problem so closely associated in the minds of the public with youth. Other women may experience shame related to multiple decades of hiding the truth and lying to loved ones. Other possible barriers to treatment may include difficulty in making room for treatment and self-care for older women who tend to have greater responsibilities than younger women with the disorder.Dr. Wendy Oliver-Pyatt, an expert in the field of eating disorders recently said, “Diets are the gateway drug to eating disorders.” It has been studied and documented in cases of both self-imposed restrictive diets and in times of famine. Binge eating is a physiological response to starvation. It is also an adaptive response to starvation. Throughout history in times of famine, mental pre-occupation with food and bingeing when one can get food kept a person alive.. So it is unrealistic to treat obese people with diets alone.
