Eating Disorders
Introduction
Gertrude's Story
Introduction
Eating disorders can take up many forms. With an eating disorders a person restricts him/ herself and nearly stops eating. This person can keep restricting him/herself for long periods and then ends up dangerously underweight.
With other eating disorders a person will take in large amount of food (binging) and then feel out of control and start a compensatory behavior to stop themselves from gaining weight, such as self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives and other medication.
Gertrude's Story
Gertrude's mother realized something was wrong. Gertrude was only 14 when her problem started. She would restrict her eating and told her mother that she was on a diet. Gertrude lost weight very rapidly and her physical condition was poor. Her mother tried everything she could to get Gertrude to eat. At times Gertrude gave in to her mother's demands and would then lose control completely by eating huge amounts of food. This made Gertrude's mother happy as her child was now eating, but she would also notice that her daughter would rush to the bathroom after every meal. She soon realized that Gertude was vomiting to get rid of the food she just ate.
Getrude was admitted to a clinic and started therapy. She soon made contact with her inner
child - a 1 year old baby girl. Gertrude could recollect how she was forced to eat
by the caregiver at her day care. Gertrude realized that this was very traumatic for her
little inner child, having to be force-fed every day.The therapist guided Gertrude to find the subconscious decision she made while going through this bad experience. Gertrude remembered making the decision that she would only be free if she was never forced to eat. She decided that her freedom lies in not eating.
When Gertrude reached the age of 14, she became rebellious and her mother reacted by traying to control her. This was the trigger. Gertrude's 1 year old inner child solved her problem - "Your freedom lies in not eating". Although Gertrude was not aware of this at the time, her little inner child was now controlling her eating patterns.
During each therapy session Gertrude could heal part of the pain she carried with her for so many years. She began to change the subconscious decisions that prevented her from eating. The inner child was finally freed from the day care after all those years and Gertrude began to realize what freedom really meant. Gertrude began to eat healthier and her body and soul began to heal.
The thoughts, behavior and feelings you have today, are the thoughs, behavior and feelings of your inner child. Through healing the little child within you, these thoughts, behavior and feelings can be healed. Please read The Inner Child, Feelings and Behavior for more information.
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