I caught last night's episode of Intervention with the story of Marquel, an exercise addict and alcoholic. Although there have been a number of episodes on eating disorders on Intervention, there were a few unique aspects I appreciated about this one: 1) The show represented a minority. I know they have in the past, I just don't recall any with eating disorders but perhaps I'm wrong here. 2) The individual refused treatment despite all the actions of her family and friends. I don't think this has happened in many episodes, but I haven't been watching Intervention on a regular basis lately. I remember a few episodes of people having huge lash-outs or escaping the premise, but all eventually went to treatment. With Marquel, she suspected the intervention and flat out refused, walking away and not speaking to her family and friends for 4 1//2 months as of this date.
A brief synopsis of Marquel: Marquel is a 30 year old Hispanic woman with two young children and a roommate in South Beach Florida. She was an elementary school teacher after college for several years but is now a fitness instructor. Her family feels she is an exercise addict, but Marquel does not, viewing exercise as "therapeutic:" She questions her exercise addiction (up to many hours per day) but does not feel like it has taken over her life.
Marquel also has a history of bulimia and alcoholism with symptoms of restriction and amenorrhea. On several occasions, she has passed out, been hospitalized for alcoholic poisoning, and was pulled over for a DUI and hit and run. Marquel does not view her alcoholism as a problem but says as many addicts do she has control over it and "I can stop drinking when I feel like it, I just never feel like it."
Growing up Marquel's family was a typical close-knit Hispanic family. When Marquel was 15 years old, her mother died of breast cancer which was very difficult for her, feeling like she never got a chance to mourn her death. Her father began dating soon after which was also hard on Marquel, wanting his affection.
When Marquel moved a way to college in FL, that was when her heavy binge drinking appeared. She found love, got married, and had two children. She presented herself as a "perfect" mom, but eventually that took its toll. She began to party, consume a high amount of alcohol, and neglect her kids. Five months ago, she separated from her husband and moved to South Beach with her children and began as a fitness instructor.
Marquel's entire family is very concerned for her and especially worried about her children. When the family tried the intervention, Marquel suspiciously picked up on it (possibly by her roommate who her family felt like enabled Marquel) and walked out, chased by her father who desperately tried to convince her to get help. She eventually agrees to come back to talk to her family which was not very productive. In the end, despite what everyone thought, Marquel did not agree to go to treatment.
As I said before, I liked the fact that this episode featured a Hispanic individual struggling with addictons and an eating disorder. In recent years, there has been an increase in Hispanics with eating disorders, making researchers realize they are not immune as once thought with better body image and different cultural expectations. And I have to admit that I don't think it is helpful that many live in South Beach which adheres to a similar lifestyle of "lookism" as Los Angelos.
In terms of treatment, it is obvious that Marquel needs help. She is at risk of hurting herself, others, and her kids. But like most addicts, will she have a rock bottom, will she get tired of the lifestyle she is living, tired of missing her kids enough to stop, or the lack of communication with her family? I think whenever many of us watch this show, we always hope that the individual will decide willingly to go to treatment. In many of the shows, it seems like it takes just a few minutes of tears, and then they decide to go (we really don't know how long this takes due to editing). But in reality, unless there is absolutely no other option, it usually takes awhile and with multiple attempts. Everyone is different when it comes to treatment and when they decide to get help. We hope that when they do decide, it is not too late.
I'll be interested to see whether Intervention will do a follow up story if Marquel does decide to enter treatment.
Related posts on Intervention:
Emily
Nicole
Sonia and Julia
Showing posts with label intervention. Show all posts
Showing posts with label intervention. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The nature of an eating disorder
The show Intervention recently kicked off their new season at the end of May. I don't watch every episode, but I do catch one every now and then. Last night's episode featured identical twin sisters, Sonia and Julia, both in their early 20s. I found this episode quite interesting, as there were many different issues displayed: biological factors, IDENTITY, family dynamics, co-dependency, and competitiveness.
Most of us already know that genetics has an influence on eating disorders, so I'm not going to discuss that at length. However, since these two girls were identical, there was a higher likelihood that if one developed an eating disorder, the other would as well. (study here) The interesting thing was that their sister, the eldest of the three, did not develop an ED.
From the family standpoint, the biggest issue I saw was never treating the girls as separate individuals. Thus, they never truly were able to develop their own IDENTITY which can be a core issue of an eating disorder. As teenagers, the two physically developed differently, Sonia, the younger of the two, was thin and slim, while Julia was more curvy and considered the "chubby angel." This seemed to be when anorexia first reared its ugly head, starting with Julia who began to exercise and get into karate. Then, Sonia became interested in the sport, and everything escalated from there, having a snowball effect in illness and further competitiveness between the two. Each one wanted to be recognized for something of their own, especially Julia.
Then, they developed a major co-dependency issue, especially when both were attending the same college and living together. Eventually, they both left college and came home. This only further exacerbated their rituals and rules, leading to the two of them to "feed" off each other. I thought these scenes between the two of them really showed the effects of the nature of the illness. You saw how both were incredibly isolated, never leaving the house, declined visits to their older sister's house, saying harsh words to their sister and parents, their daily rituals, etc. It was incredibly sad for their older sister to hear the things they said to her, like that they were never close. But it truly did show the mark of the illness in how they were so void of emotion, feeling, and attachment from anything other than their disorder.
There was something else Julia said that I found startling. She said how she felt like Sonia was copying her in her anorexia and other behaviors, but at the same time, she was her nightmare too. Just imagine, being an identical twin, living together in the same environment, with an eating disorder. It's like waking up to see she shadow of your nightmare in living form as the anorexia. How that must be so difficult.
At the intervention which the girls had separately, you could see how clueless, helpless, and distraught their parents felt. They simply did not understand the disorder nor how raising of them as "one" versus separates impacted the girls' lives so much. Even down to the letter they were supposed to write for each individual girl, they wound up writing the same letter for each girl. By the end of the show, they did realize this mistake.
Sonia and Julia did agree to treatment, although they worried about being separated. But it seemed for Julia, there was almost a sense of relief actually, at least that is what I saw. Both girls were treated at Remuda Ranch in VA, though their treatment was separate except for dealing with their co-dependency issues. At the end of three months, they had reached a healthy weight and were maintaining it. They plan to go back to college in the fall and live in separate apartments.
I'd say my only real discrepancy was whether the "tough love" approach should have been taken. It's something Intervention is known for. In many cases, it works, since there is usually an "enabler" involved. The interventionist said how the parents were enabling this, because they allowed it to go on. Clearly, Sonia and Julia were not doing well in the home environment together, so something did need to change. Whether it was exactly their parents is questionable. I think the dynamics did need some revising, however.
Did anyone else see this episode? What were your thoughts?
Most of us already know that genetics has an influence on eating disorders, so I'm not going to discuss that at length. However, since these two girls were identical, there was a higher likelihood that if one developed an eating disorder, the other would as well. (study here) The interesting thing was that their sister, the eldest of the three, did not develop an ED.
From the family standpoint, the biggest issue I saw was never treating the girls as separate individuals. Thus, they never truly were able to develop their own IDENTITY which can be a core issue of an eating disorder. As teenagers, the two physically developed differently, Sonia, the younger of the two, was thin and slim, while Julia was more curvy and considered the "chubby angel." This seemed to be when anorexia first reared its ugly head, starting with Julia who began to exercise and get into karate. Then, Sonia became interested in the sport, and everything escalated from there, having a snowball effect in illness and further competitiveness between the two. Each one wanted to be recognized for something of their own, especially Julia.
Then, they developed a major co-dependency issue, especially when both were attending the same college and living together. Eventually, they both left college and came home. This only further exacerbated their rituals and rules, leading to the two of them to "feed" off each other. I thought these scenes between the two of them really showed the effects of the nature of the illness. You saw how both were incredibly isolated, never leaving the house, declined visits to their older sister's house, saying harsh words to their sister and parents, their daily rituals, etc. It was incredibly sad for their older sister to hear the things they said to her, like that they were never close. But it truly did show the mark of the illness in how they were so void of emotion, feeling, and attachment from anything other than their disorder.
There was something else Julia said that I found startling. She said how she felt like Sonia was copying her in her anorexia and other behaviors, but at the same time, she was her nightmare too. Just imagine, being an identical twin, living together in the same environment, with an eating disorder. It's like waking up to see she shadow of your nightmare in living form as the anorexia. How that must be so difficult.
At the intervention which the girls had separately, you could see how clueless, helpless, and distraught their parents felt. They simply did not understand the disorder nor how raising of them as "one" versus separates impacted the girls' lives so much. Even down to the letter they were supposed to write for each individual girl, they wound up writing the same letter for each girl. By the end of the show, they did realize this mistake.
Sonia and Julia did agree to treatment, although they worried about being separated. But it seemed for Julia, there was almost a sense of relief actually, at least that is what I saw. Both girls were treated at Remuda Ranch in VA, though their treatment was separate except for dealing with their co-dependency issues. At the end of three months, they had reached a healthy weight and were maintaining it. They plan to go back to college in the fall and live in separate apartments.
I'd say my only real discrepancy was whether the "tough love" approach should have been taken. It's something Intervention is known for. In many cases, it works, since there is usually an "enabler" involved. The interventionist said how the parents were enabling this, because they allowed it to go on. Clearly, Sonia and Julia were not doing well in the home environment together, so something did need to change. Whether it was exactly their parents is questionable. I think the dynamics did need some revising, however.
Did anyone else see this episode? What were your thoughts?
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Intervention: a look at dysphagia
I'm not sure how many of you watched Intervention on Monday, but it was a very interesting case with a young woman with dysphagia, a swallowing disorder. Dysphagia can occur at any age for a variety of reasons. It can be due to a congenital abnormality, a structural problem or damage, a medical condition like Parkinson's, or for a psychological problem.
In this case, dysphagia was psychological. This episode featured Nicole, a woman who had been molested at a young age. This prompted her descent into anorexia where she became very malnourished and eventually had to have a feeding tube placed in her stomach. The feeding tube has been in her stomach for fourteen years. During this time, she got married and had two beautiful children.
Her family has become increasingly worried about her children as they feel she has neglected them. They also fear that Nicole could overdose on the many medications she's on for depression, anxiety, and I believe her heart. Since Nicole fears swallowing food so intensely, stemming from her childhood molestation, she chews and spits her food as well as mashing it up and dissolving her medications through the feeding tube. Her rationale for the feeding tube is that without it, she would not live at all, simply starving.
Nicole has been in various treatment centers, including those specific for eating disorders but did not feel they helped her. When she reaches the point of talking about the molestation, she has much difficulty dealing with it and shuts down. Thus, she has not gotten that far in therapy. In the intervention, her family's and husband's hope was that she would accept receiving treatment at a residential eating disorders clinic. At the end of the show, it said she stayed in the treatment program for two months, and then went home. She learned to swallow baby food and had gained over 25 pounds.
What I found interesting about this episode was not only the fact that it presented dysphagia psychologically which I've known has occurred in some abuse cases, but also the reliance of the feeding tube from an eating disorder perspective. I've personally never experienced this, but I have heard of people both refusing a feeding tube and also fearing the removal of one as well.
In the case with Nicole, she had had the feeding tube for fourteen years which is an extremely long time, especially evident by the sores around her feeding tube site. Feeding tubes' initial purpose has always been as a temporary measure to help individuals with eating disorders or any other ailment receive the nourishment they needed for a short time. After that, it was to be removed with resumed feeding/learning to eat on one's own.
The other aspect I found surprising was how forthcoming Nicole was about her feeding tube. She publicly fed herself through the feeding tube. She figured this was how she was going to eat, and if people were repulsed by it, then they needed to not watch. In general, this goes almost completely against normal eating disorder characteristics. Eating disorders have always thrived on secrecy, but she puts hers out on display. It gives a feeling of "attention seeking" even if that is not her intention.
The show also featured the toll this swallowing disorder has taken on her family. Her oldest child felt like she did not love her, while the younger one held out hope but was still clearly hurt.
Overall, I'm glad that she accepted treatment and has found some success. I hope she continues on with recovery and will be able to overcome her abuse issues and mend her relationship with her daughters and family.
If anyone saw this episode, what were your thoughts?
In this case, dysphagia was psychological. This episode featured Nicole, a woman who had been molested at a young age. This prompted her descent into anorexia where she became very malnourished and eventually had to have a feeding tube placed in her stomach. The feeding tube has been in her stomach for fourteen years. During this time, she got married and had two beautiful children.
Her family has become increasingly worried about her children as they feel she has neglected them. They also fear that Nicole could overdose on the many medications she's on for depression, anxiety, and I believe her heart. Since Nicole fears swallowing food so intensely, stemming from her childhood molestation, she chews and spits her food as well as mashing it up and dissolving her medications through the feeding tube. Her rationale for the feeding tube is that without it, she would not live at all, simply starving.
Nicole has been in various treatment centers, including those specific for eating disorders but did not feel they helped her. When she reaches the point of talking about the molestation, she has much difficulty dealing with it and shuts down. Thus, she has not gotten that far in therapy. In the intervention, her family's and husband's hope was that she would accept receiving treatment at a residential eating disorders clinic. At the end of the show, it said she stayed in the treatment program for two months, and then went home. She learned to swallow baby food and had gained over 25 pounds.
What I found interesting about this episode was not only the fact that it presented dysphagia psychologically which I've known has occurred in some abuse cases, but also the reliance of the feeding tube from an eating disorder perspective. I've personally never experienced this, but I have heard of people both refusing a feeding tube and also fearing the removal of one as well.
In the case with Nicole, she had had the feeding tube for fourteen years which is an extremely long time, especially evident by the sores around her feeding tube site. Feeding tubes' initial purpose has always been as a temporary measure to help individuals with eating disorders or any other ailment receive the nourishment they needed for a short time. After that, it was to be removed with resumed feeding/learning to eat on one's own.
The other aspect I found surprising was how forthcoming Nicole was about her feeding tube. She publicly fed herself through the feeding tube. She figured this was how she was going to eat, and if people were repulsed by it, then they needed to not watch. In general, this goes almost completely against normal eating disorder characteristics. Eating disorders have always thrived on secrecy, but she puts hers out on display. It gives a feeling of "attention seeking" even if that is not her intention.
The show also featured the toll this swallowing disorder has taken on her family. Her oldest child felt like she did not love her, while the younger one held out hope but was still clearly hurt.
Overall, I'm glad that she accepted treatment and has found some success. I hope she continues on with recovery and will be able to overcome her abuse issues and mend her relationship with her daughters and family.
If anyone saw this episode, what were your thoughts?
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Intervention
I do not watch the A&E show "Intervention" on a daily basis, but I happened to be flipping through channels and saw it was on last night. I was watching something else, so I ended up staying up until 1:00 AM to catch the encore of it. It was about a severely anorectic young woman named Emily. I actually think for the most part, it was okay-- maybe a few too many shots of her body nude, like in a shower, dressing, etc. which I didn't think were necessary.
I could relate with some of her feelings like unworthiness, not feeling like you deserved pleasure, that you didn't measure up to everyone, etc. With this young woman, to me, there were a lot of factors stemming from the family. Not that they were intentional but as always were major contributors to the development of her eating disorder. Since she had an identical twin sister who seemed to have it all, she always felt in her shadow. As one twin grew more confident and self-assured with life, Emily stood by the sidelines and began shrinking. This whole set up reminds me of Shelly from the documentary "Thin." She had similar issues with being an identical twin. I can definitely see how the whole identity crisis can be difficult.
Also, another key factor into Emily's illness was being date raped. It was never said whether she received any counseling for this. I remember reading an article recently that said how trauma changes the way we view the world. Here's an excerpt from the trauma study at Cornell University:
Cornell researchers report that rapes, sudden deaths of loved ones, life-threatening accidents and other such traumas may result in enduring changes on how an individual views the world.
Since the show is called "Intervention," Emily had one with her family around. She eventually accepted treatment at Casa Palmera for 90 days. The last clip of her shows her being very motivated, saying she really wanted to give recovery a chance, that it was like a lightbulb went off. However, the last screen where they tell the progress of each participant said she had lost 7 pounds while there and was discharged to medical care. The remaining part of treatment, she was tube fed and went to Remuda Ranch.
The show ended up bitter sweet I guess. I still have a lot of issue with treatment and eating disorders. Maybe I am very biased, because I feel like I've never truly had an advocate or a professional say "I won't see you anymore unless you go IP," or something to that effect. The worst ultimatum I had was when my college therapist was about to ditch me, because I refused to get a physical for several months due to fear. She was willing to help me get through the door at least, and in the end, it wound up being one of the best moves I made.
It just seems so hard when you don't look the part and you fall under the radar. A part of you feels great that you go undetected, but another part of you screams out for someone to notice, to care, to say "this is not okay." I often wonder what my physical therapist thinks. The PT and PTA just keep asking me if I run everyday which I don't. I just run a minimum of X miles.
Then there is my father. He says I need to stop running for 2-3 months to give my hamstring a chance to heal. Okay, this may be true, but it's not what you say to someone with eating and exercising issues. He's just like "well walk then. You'll be fine, you look great, what's the problem." I just want to shout at him and say "Yeah, I may look great, but it's only due to being very active and probably not eating enough." Oh yeah, that's right, he thinks the average sedentary person really only needs 1200-1500 calories/day and that would solve the obesity problem.
Anyway, I'm going off tangent about this. As I said, it's great that these people on shows like Intervention are getting the help they need, it just feels like the rest of us are left in the dust. Any residential treatment facility is a fortune and most of us do not have that type of money to shell out. It's just a sad reality.
I could relate with some of her feelings like unworthiness, not feeling like you deserved pleasure, that you didn't measure up to everyone, etc. With this young woman, to me, there were a lot of factors stemming from the family. Not that they were intentional but as always were major contributors to the development of her eating disorder. Since she had an identical twin sister who seemed to have it all, she always felt in her shadow. As one twin grew more confident and self-assured with life, Emily stood by the sidelines and began shrinking. This whole set up reminds me of Shelly from the documentary "Thin." She had similar issues with being an identical twin. I can definitely see how the whole identity crisis can be difficult.
Also, another key factor into Emily's illness was being date raped. It was never said whether she received any counseling for this. I remember reading an article recently that said how trauma changes the way we view the world. Here's an excerpt from the trauma study at Cornell University:
Cornell researchers report that rapes, sudden deaths of loved ones, life-threatening accidents and other such traumas may result in enduring changes on how an individual views the world.
Since the show is called "Intervention," Emily had one with her family around. She eventually accepted treatment at Casa Palmera for 90 days. The last clip of her shows her being very motivated, saying she really wanted to give recovery a chance, that it was like a lightbulb went off. However, the last screen where they tell the progress of each participant said she had lost 7 pounds while there and was discharged to medical care. The remaining part of treatment, she was tube fed and went to Remuda Ranch.
The show ended up bitter sweet I guess. I still have a lot of issue with treatment and eating disorders. Maybe I am very biased, because I feel like I've never truly had an advocate or a professional say "I won't see you anymore unless you go IP," or something to that effect. The worst ultimatum I had was when my college therapist was about to ditch me, because I refused to get a physical for several months due to fear. She was willing to help me get through the door at least, and in the end, it wound up being one of the best moves I made.
It just seems so hard when you don't look the part and you fall under the radar. A part of you feels great that you go undetected, but another part of you screams out for someone to notice, to care, to say "this is not okay." I often wonder what my physical therapist thinks. The PT and PTA just keep asking me if I run everyday which I don't. I just run a minimum of X miles.
Then there is my father. He says I need to stop running for 2-3 months to give my hamstring a chance to heal. Okay, this may be true, but it's not what you say to someone with eating and exercising issues. He's just like "well walk then. You'll be fine, you look great, what's the problem." I just want to shout at him and say "Yeah, I may look great, but it's only due to being very active and probably not eating enough." Oh yeah, that's right, he thinks the average sedentary person really only needs 1200-1500 calories/day and that would solve the obesity problem.
Anyway, I'm going off tangent about this. As I said, it's great that these people on shows like Intervention are getting the help they need, it just feels like the rest of us are left in the dust. Any residential treatment facility is a fortune and most of us do not have that type of money to shell out. It's just a sad reality.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)