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Sue had enjoyed a healthy and nurturing relationship with her daughter. They were close, friendly, and supported each other until things began to go downhill.
The daughter’s personality changed; she started skipping meals and became aggressive and rude. Sue couldn’t believe it. Her daughter was later diagnosed with an eating disorder.
Highlights
- Eating Disorders Families Australia is a peer support network founded by a group of parents with lived experience as carers.
- In the last 18 months, Eating Disorders Families Australia has seen a more than 300 per cent increase in its membership, which means the number of people suffering from eating disorders is increasing in Australia.
- Butterfly Foundation estimated there were more than 1800 deaths in 2012 due to this illness
“Everybody felt like they were treading on eggshells around her. Just horrible, just horrible. Sometimes, she would throw things. Really, really unreasonable behaviour and compared to what it was about - it was just like a total overreaction," shares mum Sue.
Often misunderstood as some sort of physical illness or a lifestyle choice, eating disorders are mental illnesses accompanied by physical consequences and behavioural issues including mood swings, unpredictability, and aggression.
Advocacy groups fear the number of people living with an eating disorder in Australia is rising and under-recognised Source: Getty
Carers often report changes in the personality of their loved ones.
Another parent added, “Shouting and screaming and saying horrible things, being quite aggressive, crying, not talking to us."
