What actually happens when someone has an eating disorder?

[Whatistheprocess]

If someone goes to the gp and tells them they think they have an eating disorder does the gp treat it (do they refer for some kind of therapy?)

what happens if the person has children ? Is this a problem will it trigger safeguarding for any reason ?

I have eating disorder for years and still have my children , have u got one?

I think I may have ARFID

One of my closest friends was hospitalised for a severe eating disorder last year. It’s been difficult for her children, as she’s terribly aware, but no safeguarding issues.

Ate you a single parent?

I just don't eat for days if I feel fat I have body disorders and BPD

I'm diagnosed BPD, although I don't have body dysmorphia, I have disordered eating, sometimes not eating, other times bingeing. I'm find DBT helpful.

I'm not getting any help 😭 I also feel like I'm in trauma bond relationship @OnlyTheCrumbliestFlakiestChocolate

I'm sorry to hear that. I started the DBT when I was still living with an abusive parent but wasn't able to utilise what I learned effectively until halfway through the course when I was able to move out somewhere safe, !unbroken was just stuck in fight/flight/freeze/fawn and even then it has taken me a long time. But now it's working for me.

The lack of resources in terms of mental health support in the UK right now is horrendous.

@OnlyTheCrumbliestFlakiestChocolate I don't no what to do like leave or stay we lost our daughter last month and he's an alcoholic and goes in moods and is lovely one min then horrible the next he says he loves me but I'm not sure if he's just abusing me and I'm letting him get away with it or its me that's the problem

My DD1 has Arfid (and has been hospitalised with it in the past with a BMI under 13) She's also a doctor herself..
Help is.. patchy. Until she was very very unwell indeed nothing was done, and while she has had periods of true anorexia her main isue has been Arfid and has been since she was a baby.
Since her last hospitalisation she has had medical and psychiatric support (and long term suplemental nutrition)
It has not affected her job her competentnce or her presumes ability to parent :)

Jesus, I wish I proof read before posting.. I can spell, honestly !

Well has it caused the children to have eating disorders themselves or some other major issues?

I think the answer depends on many things.

What eating disorder does the person have?
How badly does it affect them, do they have a very low BMI for example.
Do they have any underlying conditions like autism (ED very common in autistic people), depression, anxiety, OCD etc?
Does it affect thei parenting?

It's a MH issue so lots can go into special facilities especially if they're starving themselves to death

There wouldn't be safeguarding issue unless you're forcing your DC to follow a bizarre diet and harming them

NHS Psychotherapist here.

GP would likely refer to local MH services. They might refer to the eating disorders team straight away (if they think they have enough to evidence) but there would have to be enough information/strong evidence on the referral for the ED team to accept and offer an assessment straight away.

In my area, the 'threshold' for assessment in ED is not often met from one visit to the GP, more evidence is needed. In this case the referral is often redirected to a general mental health team (such as IAPT/wellbeing or to the adult mental health team) for further general assessment. Here further information is collated and if this team feels there is an ED and enough evidence for it, they will then refer back to ED with hope that they have enough evidence for them to offer and ED assessment.

Hope this makes sense.

Don't worry about safeguarding unless as PP said you are forcing some kind of unreasonable dietary restrictions on your children or there is some other abuse or neglect.

do you have private medical insurance, like Bupa? Because, in my experience, NHS support for ED is utterly woeful.

I'm currently in an in-patient eating disorders unit. I have anorexia and my youngest Ds has ARFID. He is 19 with special needs and I'm his carer. We are also both autistic.
Ds is a vulnerable adult and there has been no questions over safeguarding.
I have a really great GP, but an incredibly poor community ED team. Hence being admitted to hospital, as I could not get the support and treatment that I needed and became very unwell.

In my experience they've done nothing. I plucked up the courage to talk to them about having binge eating disorder and being bulimic. The really helpful GP told me I just needed to stop making myself sick and that I needed to stop eating so much. He told me to contact Beat charity, which I did and they told me they don't offer any help in this part of the country. No idea what people are supposed to do then, just suffer alone I guess

I believe I have ARFID, too. I don't have children of my own but I'm capable of adequately feeding my husband, stepkids or any guests we have. Just because we have eating disorders doesn't, to me, mean that we're going to pass our behaviours on.

I'm in my 50s now. I've never told a GP about my eating problems and I don't suppose I ever will.