ABSTRACT
Katie is 29, a medical researcher. Her sister Marlene, age 28, developed anorexia at age 13.
I was 15 when I noticed Marlene brushing her teeth excessively. Marlene had become secretive, wore long-sleeved clothes and was very thin. When a friend confided Marlene was cutting herself, I confronted my sister who admitted she had been excessively weighing herself and making herself vomit for several months. A meticulous diary documented her habits.
Our family initially participated in a family counselling service via our GP. The few group sessions were a disaster. Upset and confused, my parents and I did not understand why Marlene was deliberately hurting herself. After blaming ourselves for her behaviour, we ended up crying and directing accusatory comments at each other. Marlene ceased individual counselling after a few sessions. Until eighteen months ago, her life was a vicious cycle of bulimia nervosa (BN), anorexia nervosa (AN) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), with weight loss and gain cycles, alongside brief sojourns with various counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists.
The anorexia has been devastating for our family, though its impact has been eased through participation in a carer project (a study for carers of people with eating disorders at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London).
Katie