Anorexia and ASD

Hello!

I am a 34 yr old woman with ASD. I suffered from anorexia for over a decade.  I did not realise at the time that I was extremely anxious and had been all my life - I could not identify my own feelings due to the ASD so really struggled to engage with any sort of talking therapy.  Similarly to your daughter, I had OCD and anorexia was really just a facet of that and and the underlying anxiety. I also really struggled with black and white thinking around body image - everyone told me I was ill but I looked just like the models that other women aspired to so, in my mind, people who said I was too thin were lying. I am now medicated for anxiety and have recovered from my eating disorder. Recognising and getting a handle on my anxiety really helped me to fight the compulsive urges in a way I couldn’t before.  I think what people often don’t realise about recovery is that the anxiety you feel when you are looking ‘better’ is so much worse than the impact of the eating disorder when you are ill.  That was my experience any way.  I really needed my parents to recognise that what they were asking of me when they wanted me to eat a meal was absolutely huge - they did not at the time and were very angry with me which I think is why it took me until adulthood to recover. 

Hello!

I am a 34 yr old woman with ASD. I suffered from anorexia for over a decade.  I did not realise at the time that I was extremely anxious and had been all my life - I could not identify my own feelings due to the ASD so really struggled to engage with any sort of talking therapy.  Similarly to your daughter, I had OCD and anorexia was really just a facet of that and and the underlying anxiety. I also really struggled with black and white thinking around body image - everyone told me I was ill but I looked just like the models that other women aspired to so, in my mind, people who said I was too thin were lying. I am now medicated for anxiety and have recovered from my eating disorder. Recognising and getting a handle on my anxiety really helped me to fight the compulsive urges in a way I couldn’t before.  I think what people often don’t realise about recovery is that the anxiety you feel when you are looking ‘better’ is so much worse than the impact of the eating disorder when you are ill.  That was my experience any way.  I really needed my parents to recognise that what they were asking of me when they wanted me to eat a meal was absolutely huge - they did not at the time and were very angry with me which I think is why it took me until adulthood to recover.