Family environment

The family can play a critical role in the development of eating disorders. The study found that at least half of the families in which at least one of the members suffers from this disorder have a “long history” of excessive anxiety about their appearance and diet. The family can also create a favorable climate for the development of the disorder if it establishes abnormal family relationships.
Specialists dealing with family problems provide evidence that family relationships often interfere with the development of the disorder from the very beginning and that such disorder is simply a reflection of greater dysfunction. A well-known family expert, Salvador Minuchin is convinced that in a family with close ties there are more people with serious mental disorders.

Family-tangled links, family members are overly involved in each other’s affairs and are overly concerned about the details of each other’s life. The positive thing about this kind of relationship is that family members can be loving and tolerant; negative is that they can be sticky and addictive.
Too little space for individuality and independence. Parents are too involved in the lives of their children. Minuchin cites evidence that teenagers are a particular problem in such families. Teenagers tend to strive for independence, and this is a threat to family harmony and intimacy.
The current situation is pushing the child to choose the role of the “patient” - this is how serious eating disorders develop, other diseases arise. The problems of the child enable the family to maintain the appearance of harmony. A sick child needs a family, and family members are rallying to protect it.