Eating Disorders and the Family: Turmoil and Solutions

By Gejia Capasso, Family Therapist for Remuda Ranch at The Meadows



Historically, families have shouldered the blame for a loved one suffering from an eating disorder. This has been met with controversy from both families and treatment teams. We know that eating disorders are complex and that families do everything in their power to fight the eating disorder. Watching someone you love suffer from an eating disorder is painful, scary, and can create anger and confusion. The stress and division within the family can seem overwhelming as each person involved is impacted in different ways. Loss of trust in family relationships, not knowing what to say or how to say it, and not knowing how to support the person who is quite possibly questioning if they even want to get better are all common experiences. Families describe, “Walking on eggshells,” thinking “Everything I say and do seem to make things worse,” and equally “Everything I don’t say and don’t do seem to make things worse.” Here come the shame and blame that families find themselves walking through as they try to understand a disorder that thrives on secrecy, dishonesty, and isolation.

As the family week therapist at Remuda Ranch at The Meadows, I believe, and have witnessed, families benefiting from education around both the mental and physical effects of eating disorders. In addition, it is important to learn about the complexity of its origins, the role other co-occurring mental health diagnoses play in eating disorders, and the “addictive” process within the experience of the eating disorder.

Though everyone has her own journey into and through recovery, know that recovery is possible.




First, I recommend finding professionals who can guide and support you and your family through this journey. Plug into a team of professionals that will be straightforward and honest in providing education, make clear recommendations, and offer an understanding of everyone’s difficult circumstances while being professionally firm in holding people accountable for the safety of the patient within this process.
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Second, realize and remind yourself often that recovery takes time. This is not going to be a short-term process and it will present with many ups and downs along the path to recovery. Remain calm even in difficult discussions and bring in compassion and empathy. It will be important to listen to learn, not listen to agree with, and not listen to speak. Ask yourself “What can I learn about your experience?” Avoid rationalizing, defer to the professionals for treatment and recovery decisions and acknowledge that this is difficult and affects everyone.

Finally, if treatment is what is necessary to help reverse malnutrition and contain the behaviors surrounding the eating disorder, acknowledge this reality and move in that direction. Treatment is a special gift to all affected by this disorder and a wise investment in recovery.

To learn how Remuda Ranch at The Meadows can help, please call 866-332-5209 today.

Content Source : Recovery is Possible.

Aaron Carter Opens Up About His Eating Disorder

During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Aaron Carter addressed his recent arrest on DUI and marijuana related charges and shared about his personal battle with having an eating disorder. Carter stated that his eating disorder is caused by a hiatal hernia, which he was diagnosed with 10 years ago at age 19. In the interview, Carter apologizes to his fans, saying, “I am sorry for the way that I look… To everybody I say, ‘Give me a break so I can look better, so I can eat.’”

You can view the interview here.

Help Is Available

Eating disorders can lead to death. In fact, an ED is the diagnosis that leads to death more than any other DSMV diagnosis. Both secrets and withdrawal from family and friends are parts of this disorder, which can lead to grave misunderstandings.


Remuda Ranch at The Meadows was recently featured on an episode of The Doctors, where we discussed treating a woman that had lost a significant amount of weight and was very ill. We offered her 90 days of treatment and helped turn her life around. Our experienced staff understands the severity and the pain that eating disorders bring. For more than 25 years, Remuda Ranch at The Meadows has been helping people recover from eating disorders. There is hope. There is help.

Give Remuda Ranch a call today at 866-331-5926; let’s discuss how we can help you.

Content Source : Eating Disorder Treatment Center

Emotional Trauma and Eating Disorder Treatment

One question often asked is, “Why do people develop eating disorders?” The answer is complex and varied but often an eating disorder develops initially as a solution to another problem.

Often times a person will experience trauma, which can be trauma with a capital “T”, like physical abuse, a natural disaster, or a sexual assault, or it can be trauma with a small “t” which could be an emotional or relational trauma. In addition to experiencing a trauma, the person often does not have the skills or personal resources to cope with the trauma. This may lead to feeling emotionally or mentally out of control and lead the individual to use food restriction, bingeing, or bingeing/purging to gain a sense of control and avoid the discomforting results of the trauma. As the disturbed patterns related to food increase, an eating disorder may develop, which becomes their primary method of distracting themselves and regulating their emotions.




As most people are aware of what constitutes a capital “T” trauma, we will spend some time discerning small “t” emotional traumas. In order to develop into a capable adult, we require certain things from our primary caregiver, such as trust, feeling understood, responding to our needs, and teaching us how to regulate our emotions through both modeling and teaching us skills. If these criteria are not met, an emotional trauma can develop. Additionally, by nature, some people have a more sensitive temperament such that they are more attuned with their environment. These individuals need “super caregivers” who are very responsive to slight changes in their demeanor and highly responsive to their needs. These “super caregivers” also need to regulate their own emotions well when interacting with the sensitive person. At times, an emotional trauma can occur when a primary caregiver is overwhelmed with either their own needs or a family or work situation may pull them in multiple directions so that the young person does not feel heard or understood. Later in life, emotional trauma can occur from significant others, peers, and other important people in someone’s life.


At Remuda Ranch at The Meadows, the treatment team recognizes that eating disorder treatment has to take into account the origin of the eating disorder and if emotional trauma played a part in its development. Knowing this, the clinical team recognizes that all features of trauma must be treated along with the eating disorder. If not, the related consequences of maladaptive behavior will pop back up through the person’s life and lead to a relapse of their eating disorder behaviors or to another maladaptive coping strategy such as using substances or self-harm.

The first step in effective eating disorder treatment includes nutritional rehabilitation. The Registered Dietitians at Remuda Ranch guide this process specific to the needs of the individual patient. The clinical teams know that if the brain is not well nourished then accomplishing the necessary therapeutic work is not possible because the patients’ thinking is not clear. Additionally, most patients are unable to develop insightful connections between their maladaptive behaviors and past events on their own.

At Remuda Ranch we work to meet the needs of the individual patient. There are several program feature which may be used such as EMDR, Acupuncture, equine therapy, cognitive restructuring, family work, psychodrama, and use of the on-site Brain Center. Our goal is for patients to process the traumas and recognize the impact on their lives, which may manifest in any number of ways including, but not limited to, eating disorder behaviors. The final component of treatment is to help patients gain further connections in their lives for the reason that people tend to heal through relationships and by learning how to establish healthy boundaries.

At Remuda Ranch at The Meadows, we see patients as complex individuals with common needs of nurturance and respect. Our staff strives to support each patient in learning to live in peace with others, with food, and with themselves. We find that a solid foundation in recovery is possible using the multitude of resources made available to those who seek treatment at Remuda Ranch.
Content Source : Eating Disorder Treatment