Posts Tagged “Young Adults”

The back-to-school season can trigger unique stressors and anxieties for students, especially those struggling with their relationship with food and their bodies. It’s important to remain on the lookout for signs of an eating disorder in your adolescent patients during this busy time of year.

Your role in supporting your patients with eating disorders cannot be overstated. By remaining compassionate and committed to your patients’ well-being, you have the ability to intervene early when you notice signs of an eating disorder, thereby improving treatment outcomes and reducing the risk of long-term harm. 

Read on to learn why the back-to-school season can be a catalyst for eating disorders and what you can do to help your patients.

For many people, college is a time of tremendous transition and change. It provides new freedom and responsibility and offers lessons in life far beyond the classroom.

It is a milestone time—and one far too often hijacked by eating disorders.

All types of eating disorders can develop, return, or worsen in young people during their college years. Though these illnesses occur across the lifespan, they are particularly prevalent between the ages of 18 and 21. Research has found that the median age of onset is 18 for anorexia and bulimia and 21 for binge eating disorder, both findings within the age range of the traditional college student.

This article examines eating disorders in college students, including potential risk factors, warning signs, and tools for screening and intervention. Learn what makes college students particularly vulnerable to these complex mental illnesses as well as ways to identify and support those affected by them during college and beyond.

Regular doctor visits are essential to a child’s and teenager’s overall health. These routine checkups are an opportunity to not only chart growth and development, but also to screen for a range of physical and mental health conditions, including eating disorders.

In fact, pediatricians and other primary care providers are often our first line of defense against eating disorders. Well-positioned to monitor ongoing health at well-child visits and other physicals, providers have a unique role in detecting and addressing any issues with food and body. Early identification of eating disorder symptoms can help prevent and interrupt the development of these serious disorders.

For people with eating disorders, the holidays—the eating, the socializing, the changes in routine—are often an annual stressor. 

No matter what your holiday plans may be this year, supporting your teenager with an eating disorder can be a meaningful part of them. Consider these suggestions to help your teenager navigate the holidays ahead in recovery.

We are pleased to share that The Emily Program’s adolescent residential program in Columbus, Ohio has opened its doors! At the 16-bed licensed facility, children and adolescents ages 10–18 can access highly structured, intensive eating disorder treatment in a safe, supportive, and comfortable setting. 

By expanding residential programming in the region, we further our commitment to increasing access to personalized and multidisciplinary eating disorder treatment. The new program completes our continuum of care options for children and adolescents of all genders in central Ohio. It comes at a time when the need for specialty treatment has never been greater.

“We’re very excited to bring this residential program to Columbus, especially with the increase in hospitalizations for eating disorders among children and adolescents we’ve seen throughout the pandemic,” said Dr. Jillian Lampert, The Emily Program’s Chief Strategy Officer. “Eating disorders are serious illnesses, but we also know they are highly treatable. Access to effective care at the appropriate level is critical. Residential treatment isn’t widely available in the region, so we’re pleased to be able to meet that need.”

For people with eating disorders, the holidays—the eating, the socializing, the changes in routine—are often an annual stressor. Intensifying the challenges again this year are the still-high levels of anxiety, discomfort, and fatigue hovering over this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whether your family’s 2021 holiday plans are virtual, in person, or some combination of both, supporting your teenager with an eating disorder can be a meaningful part of them. Consider these suggestions to help your teenager navigate the holidays ahead in recovery.