We don't spend enough time talking about what you may see in your kid when she is recovered or is moving drastically toward recovery.
When below the influence of the consuming disorder your daughter's thinking changed. What I mean by that is the extra she starved or binged and purged the more you saw her cognition altered. She became less rational and logical. Her thoughts became increasingly obsessive about food, her weight, and her body.
Her mind was continually assaulted by abusive thoughts like, "You can't eat that, you are a fat pig. If you eat that you have to go throw it up. You are such a loser you can't even be a wonderful anorexic. You have no self-discipline and are so weak."
It is astonishing how starvation and lack of nutrition can have such a big impact on the brain. In fact the brain is 1 of the initially organs from which the body begins to steal fat. The brain is 60% fat which I did not know till I started helping girls with consuming disorders.
So 1 of the items you might hear your daughter or son say as they are recovering is they are less obsessed with food, the number on a scale, what they will eat at the next meal or snack, or why they will need to purge. What a relief for her to really feel much less obsessive considering it is exhausting!
You may encounter her elevated capability to have a rational conversation about what she is thinking and feeling. When she eats some thing that in the past would have freaked her out she may possibly report ED is not as robust in her mind. The abusive thoughts he commonly assaults her with are much less intense. Even if those thoughts are present she feels much more able to counter them.
Her capacity to concentrate may perhaps also be a decent sign of her recovery. When you are continuously thinking about food it is fairly tough to concentrate in class or with homework. A decrease in depression will also result in increased concentration.
Any or all of these aspects can be evidence that your child has begun to recover. One of the primary things I hear from parents is, "I feel like we are getting our daughter back." What an thrilling feeling that is for any parent!
