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Monday, August 10, 2009

Eating Disorder Survivor Urges Others to Get Help They Need

Kelsie Gleason was only 11 when she started restricting her diet. At 15, she started telling her friends that she was feeling dizzy and would sometimes pass out.

By the time she was a sophomore in high school, Kelsi was being fed through a tube and was confined to a wheelchair.

But according to an Aug. 5 article in the Naperville Sun, Kelsie's story may be headed for a happy ending -- a result that she hopes will help motivate other disordered eaters to get the help they need:
With the help of several hospitalizations and outpatient treatment, Kelsie, at 17, finally admitted she had a problem. Instead of going for treatment to please her parents, she now wanted it for herself. She was ready to fully commit to getting better and entered a residential treatment program in her junior year.

Now 19, Kelsie is off medications, living on campus at Illinois Wesleyan and checks in with her therapist only a couple of times a year.
"The earlier you start, the better your chances of success," Kelsie told the Sun. "It's hard work and sometimes it feels like it's never going to get better. But if you stick with it, there's an entire world out there once you get through this."

If you or someone you love is struggling with an eating disorder, today could be the day that life begins to get better. Effective eating disorder treatment may be as close as a mouse-click away.

Labels: treatment

Posted By: Aspen/CRC

Comments:

Anonymous on 9/8/2009
My daughter is almost 13. At the end of 6th grade last year, a movie was shown in health class " Super-size Me". It was about the effects of fast food on your body. We are not a "fast food" family anyway but that seemed to trigger the initial "health kick" with my daughter. At the time she was 5'0 and weighed about 93 pounds. I thought she had an adorable body and not at all needed to lose weight. She never said that she was trying to lose weight but I suddenly noticed her not eating things that she would normally eat and losing weight. I took her for a physical for sports at the beginning of this school year and she weighed 84 and about two weeks later she weighed 81. I am noticing that she is very thin - too thin. She does eat as long as it is healthy food. She is obsessed about how much sugar, fat, and carbs it has. I am making sure that I cook healthy meals and that she eats plenty of what I cook but I think she is depriving herself of food her body needs. I want her to know that everything is good in moderation and that it is ok to occasionally have ice cream with her little brother. I don't want to pressure her or let her know I am alarmed but I want to help her if these are signs of an eating disorder. Like I said, she does eat- and she eats plenty when its healthy. Any ideas or should I not be worried?