Within just a few short years, Annie's mom and dad separated (and eventually divorced) and the family was evicted from their 3,000 square foot home. Annie went from being a self-proclaimed "spoiled kid" to living off food stamps and Medicaid. It seemed like her life was out of control.

"There was one piece of her life, however, that was in her control: weight loss. She was in charge of caloric intake. She could spend hours obsessively exercising. Anorexia was her escape from the shadowy feelings of helplessness."

Using anorexia as a coping mechanism is not uncommon among teens. When the rest of life feels chaotic, food is the only thing they feel they can control. Parents, if your family is going through hard or tumultuous times, help your kids find healthy ways to deal with the stress - before they find unhealthy ways to deal with it themselves. Source: Kalamazoo Gazette

Labels: control, coping, hard_times