«Every meal was accompanied by panic attacks»
Paula, 16, lives with her parents Corina and Andreas and two siblings in the canton of Zurich. At the age of 14, she developed anorexia with bulimic phases. She finally managed to overcome her eating disorder with the help of a network of parents, as her mother explains.
It began in November 2021, when Paula couldn't eat for four days due to a stomach flu. After that, she no longer ate like she used to and her portions became smaller and smaller. She had previously had a rather high weight and was unhappy with her body. She hadn't necessarily wanted to lose weight, but now it made her feel good that she was getting thinner. However, eating less made her hungry.
We were at a loss as to what to do until we came across family-based therapy.
When it got too big, Paula ate everything she could get her hands on. She then vomited it up again. But she hated vomiting and stopped after three months. Now she ate nothing at all and only ate cereal milk. For a long time, the weight loss was not so noticeable. Paula was still at a normal weight. But she had lost 30 kilos in seven months. Over time, she realised that she couldn't go on like this and that she had to eat more - but she couldn't do it.
At first we tried to find the psychological causes and Paula went to psychotherapy for a while. But that didn't help her much. She withdrew more and more, developed depression and strange compulsions.
Parents play an important role in treatment
In September 2022, a doctor diagnosed her with atypical anorexia. Paula was advised to go to a nutritional counselling session and gain weight first. But it just didn't work. For two months, we were at a loss as to what to do. Then we came across family-based therapy (FBT). Here the parents play an important role in the treatment: they help their child to eat regular meals again and to eat normal amounts.
Our daughter had reservations at first - but she was willing to join in. So I took over the cooking and we sat at the table together at mealtimes until Paula had eaten her portion. It was difficult at first, every meal was accompanied by panic attacks. That was a stressful time for me and my husband. But we always received support from the anorexia parents' network and from an experienced FBT counsellor (from Magersuchteltern.ch). And with every kilo Paula gained, the situation became more relaxed.
Paula knows that she is at risk of falling back into an eating disorder.
She has since gained around twelve kilograms, is free from symptoms of illness and has been eating according to her needs again since spring 2023. She is now the same open person she was before. She has resumed her social contacts and is planning to study social pedagogy. However, Paula knows that she is at risk of falling back into the eating disorder. She therefore makes a conscious effort to prevent relapses.
