Recent findings from a longitudinal study subset of more than 5,000 women found that 15.3 percent had met criteria for a lifetime eating disorder by midlife, while the 12-month prevalence was 3.6 percent.1 The study concluded that active eating disorders are common in midlife, both due to new onset and chronic disorders.
“Women in their forties through sixties with eating disorders are a very underserved population,” says Allison Lansky, EdS, LMFT, CEDS, NCC, Lead Senior Primary Therapist at Penn Medicine Princeton Center for Eating Disorders. “In our culture, eating disorders are sometimes still perceived as a vanity illness among adolescents or young adults. The pressure that older women are expected to be ‘over it’ adds to feelings of shame and the desire to hide the problem, and can hinder the capacity to seek treatment.”
While some eating disorder cases can first present in midlife, it is more common for a woman to be silently struggling throughout life or for an eating disorder to reappear later in life, according to Lansky. Women face new stressors as they age, including physical changes like menopause and emotional issues ranging from empty nest syndrome to divorce, relationship problems, or the death of a parent—all things that can trigger a relapse.
Establishing a Connection
Because women in midlife who are struggling with an eating disorder may feel lonely or disconnected, it’s especially important to establish a connection during treatment. Lansky suggests that therapists:
- Connect with patients based on their own therapeutic style
- Use a compassionate, nonjudgmental approach to help patients feel empowered by the therapeutic relationship
- Include loved ones in a frank dialogue, since women in this age group often have responsibilities caring for family—both children and parents
- Reinforce that positive change is possible, as women with longstanding suffering often have given up hope
“Therapists can help women in midlife recognize and reinforce positive accomplishments in their lives while providing tools like cognitive behavior therapy to change thinking,” says Lansky. “When more intensive care is needed, Princeton Center for Eating Disorders offers both inpatient and partial hospital treatment that focuses on each patient’s individual journey to recovery.”
For more information about Princeton Center for Eating Disorders, visit princetonhcs.org/eatingdisorders or call 609.853.7575.
Article as seen in the Spring 2018 issue of Princeton House Behavioral Health.
