ABSTRACT
The women spoke of ways their family and friends approached them about their eating disorder. They differed about the particular communication styles they found most helpful. The women were asked to describe things that they experienced from their diabetes treatment teams that they found either helpful or unhelpful. The majority agreed that they felt helped when they were able to openly discuss their problems, because they knew that they would receive non-judgmental understanding and encouragement from their medical providers. Often family and friends feel frustrated, scared, and helpless as they watch an eating disorder do its damage to the life of their loved one. This may feel intensified in the setting of type 1 diabetes, because they have more numerical markers that indicate the severity of their loved one's poor health – that is, blood glucose values and A1c results, in addition to weight loss.
