Re: Shaivo - Research shows bulimics usually have controlling mothers

[funkybutt]

"Adolescents and young women I see who are suffering from eating disorders often claim that their mothers were unduly controlling," says a Durban-based family clinical psychologist. "For them, the only way they could assume some control was by restricting the amount of food they ate. Their mother might have seemed all-powerful, but she couldn’t force them to eat. Tragically, overweight people might have general health problems related to their obesity, but severe cases of anorexia lead to death in many young people."

I find this very interesting, as well as the MS Media's failure to communicate the fact that bulimia ultimately caused Terri Shaivo to be in the condition that she is.

[mzmolly]

1. I agree, but her parents and family pretty much deny the bulimia

and claim that Michael Schaivo had "something to do with her collapse" :eyes:

Yea, that's why he got help for her immediately :sarcasm:

[funkybutt]

2. What kind of documentation that she HAD bulimia is there

I've heard reports ...not many on MSM news. Is there not conclusive evidence or records that she had it?

[mzmolly]

3. I'm not sure? I think she was in the closet as many are and

they surmised after she collapsed that was why?

[funkybutt]

5. a doctor friend of mine mentioned that she had bulimia

when we were discussing the case. I wonder if he has some information that I haven't seen because he stated very matter-of-factly that she collapsed because of the disease.

[Lindacooks]

7. I think that if your electrolytes are as out of balance as hers were

buliminia is diagnosed.

[salin]

6. Wasn't that the crux of the WON medical malpractice suit?

that she was misdiagnosed and thus never got the assistance with the bulimia that led to physical condition that led to her collapse?

Or did I misread that somewhere?

[fairfaxvadem]

8. and wasn't that in connection with the fertility doctor?

Severely underweight women often stop their fertility cycle. They were seeing a fertility doctor. Think that's where the misdiagnosis and bulimia issue came in, resulting in the malpractice suit.

I could be wrong here, but that's what I recall reading some weeks ago.

[salin]

9. would be good to get more info on this

given it would put some of the claims against the hubby into a different light - esp if the then claim was supported by the parents (which I think that it was) ....

still even asking for details makes me a bit queasy - we know far too much about this unfortunate woman and her family's lives/histories, etc.

[Clark2008]

17. That would make sense

I always wondered why it was an obstetritian that Mr. Schiavo sued. I had never heard that she was pregnant, so I couldn't figure out why she was seeing an OB.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

4. Denial is so typical for members of a disfunctional family.....

It's very common that families with members who have disorders will deny it. It's what allows the "sick" member to continue with their disorder. It's call co-dependency.

[LizW]

10. The disorder hurts the image of the "perfect" daughter

At least that seems to be the case with a young woman I know who recently began treatment. She is an amazing person -- brilliant, sweet and beautiful (in a competely no-make-up, natural way). I've known her for years and she has always been incredibly thin, but never looked sick.

She was apparently able to control her eating to the point that she ate normally when she was around others, but when she was alone it was a cookie a day, or nothing at all. After she got married, her disorder apparently became too hard to hide and she got treatment.

I can see eating disorders happening to women who have this "perfect daughter" self-image. They are outwardly perfect, and everyone expects them to keep on being perfect. Binging and purging, or eating only tiny amounts of junk food is a sort of rebellion agianst the constant expectations of perfection.

[heidiho]

11. She used to weigh 200 lbs according to People this week

They have a very good article about the couple. She was 200 lbs on her 5'3" frame at her high school graduation. She started community college and lost 70 lbs before meeting Michael. He was her first boyfriend.

Do controlling mothers cause obesity and/or bulemia? Perhaps.

[funkybutt]

12. Studies say yes

just google it

[kerry-is-my-prez]

13. Her parents followed her to Florida when she moved there.....

THAT tells you something right there....

[BrklynLiberal]

14. Her parents were NEVER out of their lives. They lived in the parents

basement when they were first married. When the parents decided to retire to Florida, they bought a condo in Florida for Terri and Michael close by. They NEVER let that girl out of their sight.
For the first two years of treatment they even had Michael living in the house with them.
It would seem that calling them controlling would be putting it mildly.
While the Mother may have been the controlling figure for Terri, from what I have heard. it is the father that was the dominating figure, and the brother is taking over for him. They are still the ones that are eating up the media attention.
I had also read that the real conflict started when the father wanted some of the money that was won during the malpractice claim and Michael did not turn it over to him.
There was a picture of the brother standing with Tom DeLay in the Sat NYTimes.
The brother was the one that first went to a Right to Life meeting and started making claims against Michael Schiavo.
Some info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schiavo

and here:
http://abstractappeal.com/schiavo/infopage.html#qanda

and here:
http://abstractappeal.com/schiavo/WolfsonReport.pdf

[funkybutt]

16. Some research strongly implicates overly critical fathers

Some research strongly implicates overly critical fathers, brothers, or both in the development of eating disorders.

[funkybutt]

15. So the parents deny that she had bulimia yet they want lawsuit $

that was awarded b/c of the lack of a proper diagnosis...ie...bulimia

some people can't breathe without contradicting themselves

[seabeyond]

18. i was bulimic and i didnt have a controlling mom. hey mom, not

blaming you k. was my choice. was being a big girl in southern calif in the late 70's 80's and was the fad of the white middle class girl

geez

this one just gets my goat

[ElectroPrincess]

19. You are one of the shining exceptions ...

I was anorexic only but that's bad enough. My parents were control freaks. Example: They held me down and cut my long hair off to the scalp at the age of 12 because they were afraid that I would turn into "a hippie." :hippie:

I believe that there is A CORRELATION between those of us who have suffered from eating disorders and "controlling parent(s)."

But your absolutely correct, correlation does not prove causation, i.e., it's a trend (increased) not "a law" for every young teen girl with an eating disorder.

[seabeyond]

20. thank you for your post. i had such a good mom

and when she realized what was up with me, she on her own started the research on this, before there was any real information out there. she was the first to blame herself, as she did wit all things us kids did. she is gone. i am just not gonna blame her for a single thing. since i was in it so long so much a part of that world, i hear this and jsut eeeeeewwwwwws me

but thank you for understanding

afraid that I would turn into "a hippie." :hippie:

and a wow with this. my mom would have encouraged me being an hippie, wink. yes, your aprents were. mine were not

on edit: it did have to do with the good girl mentality absolutely, that was very much there. but i put that pressure on me. i later found out that wasnt parents expectation of me, they would have liked to see me get in a little more trouble..........

[Spazito]

21. Eating disorders are caused by a combination of...

societal, individual, and family factors. They are a manifestation of complex underlying struggles with identity and self-concept, and of problems that often stem from traumatic experiences and patterns of socialization. Eating disorders are coping behaviours which provide the individual with an outlet for displacement of feelings or with a (false) sense of being in control. Common to all eating disorders is a pervasive underlying sense of powerlessness.


This is a quote taken from the National Eating Disorder Information Center and the response to the question: What are eating disorders:

Here is the link:

http://www.nedic.ca/qa.html#3