My mom is a huge believe in food sensitivity, which I'm realizing contributed to my sense that my then-4-yr-old's stomach issues could be caused by food. And the "holistic" pediatrician we were seeing at that time totally endorsed that possibility -- so I put my friggin preschooler on an elimination diet and then wondered why, by the tim…
My mom is a huge believe in food sensitivity, which I'm realizing contributed to my sense that my then-4-yr-old's stomach issues could be caused by food. And the "holistic" pediatrician we were seeing at that time totally endorsed that possibility -- so I put my friggin preschooler on an elimination diet and then wondered why, by the time she was 8, she was making up food rules ("sugar makes my stomach hurt") that eventually turned into full-blown ED. Literally no one suggested that those early stomach pains could've been anxiety, which seems SO clear in retrospect.
I found my 8th grade journal 😬 and I spent a lot of time talking about chronic stomachaches around my crushes- like yes that’s anxiety 14 year old me. It’s like no one ever mentioned the word to me! I didn’t have super restrictive eating as a teen but I was known to throw whole sandwiches out or skip lunch when I was feeling anxious or jealous.
I took pictures of my harmed by diet culture thoughts- the person who ended up being my high school bf is a year older than me and he didn’t want to be a couple when I wasn’t in high school yet- in 8th grade I wrote a few times he was going to fall in love with a skinny prettier girl 😅 I was straight size my whole life until after my second kid was born and I had a great friend group and good relationship with my family growing up but so much anxiety tied into people will like me more if I am skinnier. I hated seeing evidence I had internalized fat phobia at 14! Thank you for all your work Virginia, it is so important! My husband started reading Fat Talk last night after many times of me telling him important this work is for parents. ❤️
My mom is a huge believe in food sensitivity, which I'm realizing contributed to my sense that my then-4-yr-old's stomach issues could be caused by food. And the "holistic" pediatrician we were seeing at that time totally endorsed that possibility -- so I put my friggin preschooler on an elimination diet and then wondered why, by the time she was 8, she was making up food rules ("sugar makes my stomach hurt") that eventually turned into full-blown ED. Literally no one suggested that those early stomach pains could've been anxiety, which seems SO clear in retrospect.
I found my 8th grade journal 😬 and I spent a lot of time talking about chronic stomachaches around my crushes- like yes that’s anxiety 14 year old me. It’s like no one ever mentioned the word to me! I didn’t have super restrictive eating as a teen but I was known to throw whole sandwiches out or skip lunch when I was feeling anxious or jealous.
This is so so so common for tweens and teens!
I took pictures of my harmed by diet culture thoughts- the person who ended up being my high school bf is a year older than me and he didn’t want to be a couple when I wasn’t in high school yet- in 8th grade I wrote a few times he was going to fall in love with a skinny prettier girl 😅 I was straight size my whole life until after my second kid was born and I had a great friend group and good relationship with my family growing up but so much anxiety tied into people will like me more if I am skinnier. I hated seeing evidence I had internalized fat phobia at 14! Thank you for all your work Virginia, it is so important! My husband started reading Fat Talk last night after many times of me telling him important this work is for parents. ❤️