– I often wonder how much faster I could have recovered if I had a low-threshold offer available. Elin Heitmann (29) struggled with eating disorders in various forms for almost ten years. If she had been seen earlier, she believes serious illness could have been avoided. Experience shows that early help is useful, but the queues for the low-threshold offers are longer than ever. – A public health problem FHI reported in July that the proportion of girls with eating disorders has increased sharply during the pandemic. They refer to eating disorders among girls aged 13 to 16 as a public health problem. – Eating disorders are the reason for consultation that has increased the most in our service, says Anette Vehus. She works in the project “Om mat og sån”, which has learned that it is important to get help early to prevent serious development of eating disorders. The low-threshold offer is for children and young people between the ages of 13 and 24 in Kristiansand municipality. Feedback from those who make contact shows a positive curve over time. Vehus and colleague Marianne Bendiksen see that when the girls make contact themselves, that alone is a motivation for change. They teach them to listen to their bodies and to arrange and stabilize meals. – We are experiencing that many are getting well. They are social, go back to school and some start working, says Bendiksen. The girls who make contact have long had thoughts that they do not deserve help or that the illness is not serious enough. – There is no room to talk about it. Everyone should be so successful. That is what you are told on social media, says Bendiksen. Not sick enough Elin Heitmann was one of those who was ashamed of her eating disorder. Now she herself works as a counselor in a low-threshold service called ROS, which helps children and young people who struggle with food and body. She constantly meets girls who do not feel sick enough to get help. – They think they have to get sicker to be seen. I was terrified of becoming a normal weight, because then I was afraid of losing the help, says the 29-year-old. Elin Heitmann struggled with both bulimia and anorexia for a decade. For her, exercise became the punishment for eating. Photo: Håkon Eliassen / news She wants to correct a myth regarding the disease. – It is a myth that this is a “death sentence”. You don’t have to struggle with this for the rest of your life. But there are many who fear that it is so. I know the hopelessness you can feel. Now that she is healthy, she has some important advice that she believes is important to tell children and young people who are going through the same thing. Must take them seriously – The most important thing is that you know that regardless of how your body looks, it’s about how much space it takes up in your head, says Heitmann. She emphasizes that you should get help if you feel there is a problem. – You can also struggle even if you apparently have a normal body weight. Secondly, conversations with family and friends were important to Heitmann. At the same time, collaboration with psychologists and therapists helped. – At the start, the eating disorder was not visible. So I was very ashamed of it. But fortunately I have always been very open about myself. I have wanted others around me to understand how I feel. The third piece of advice is to find someone who takes you seriously. It’s not about not deserving help, but about a lack of knowledge about eating disorders, she believes. – I can’t count how many times I have said that they should of course have a place with us. Then they collapse in tears because they are so relieved that someone is finally taking them seriously. Heitmann usually prepares children and young people to be met in this way. Both in the healthcare system, at school and among friends. – I wish I didn’t have to tell them this, but we have far too many knowledge gaps about eating disorders. – If you are not taken seriously, don’t give up. Do you need help with an eating disorder? These are here to give advice and guidance, or just to chat: ROS: 94 81 78 18 [email protected] chat Spisfo: 22 94 00 10 [email protected] About food and the like (Kristiansand municipality): 93 00 37 91 / 48 16 58 84 [email protected] Contact via the school health nurse or via the youth health centre.
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Strong increase in girls with eating disorders – early help is useful – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
