Last year my cousin suffered from Anorexia. The family got her into a hospital which led to a daily out patient clinic.

She was getting involved in some missionary work overseas as well as working with the street people. Seemed she was back on track. Now she has a new love in her life. So I thought or assumed she was ok.

But..... my mom told me today that she has lost some more weight and says my cousin is anorexic again. My mom says that since my cousin is over the age of consent that she cannot force my cousin to get medical help

I'm very concerned and don't know what to do.

Anyone have a family member going through this or have gone through this themselves???? It seems like an awful disease.

it's a cycle that continues until help is gotten.

have u watched the show intervention?

the family/friends of the person trick them to come into a room and with a professional interventionist, the person gets help.

u can find clips maybe on utube.

here is one, and then the other parts are on the side bar.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...Qa9JyRwU2U
[Edited 3/9/08 21:42pm]

luv4u said:

Sorry to hear about this situation. I dont have a personal experience with this condition, but definitely an intervention at some point would have to take place, with someone present who can help her to save her own life. Maybe if there were someobody present who recovered? I'm thinking that her new love interest could be key if they participated.

im sorry i dont know of any person with this experience.. im sorry you have to bear this.. i'll keep your cousin in prayers

Does your mom directly care for your cousin or are her parents around?

Most states provide for involuntary commitment, but over time the Supreme Court has vastly diminished the scope of how it can be done.

Most states do allow a 48 hour involuntary commitment period for evaluation and upon finding of a danger to self, or others, a court ordered extension can be issued.

The age of consent does not come into play as much as they seem to think in many cases.

Flowerz said:

Thank you

Sorry to hear about this luv. I hope your cousin gets the help she needs, so she can make a full recovery.

Mars23 said:

My cousin is in her early 20's and lives on her own. She's never known her father coz her mother broke up with him years ago before she was born. As for her mother (my mom's sister - my aunt) - she died in a motor vehicle accident back in 2002, eventually taken off life support. My parents are the closest to parents for her. Maybe the new boyfriend will notice.

Oh Bev

I don't know much about it, but I do not it can be treated successfully.
One of my best friend's older sisters had it. She was skinny when I met her, but 'normal skinny' as she was being helped at the time.

I'm sorry I can't be of much help as I know so little about it, but I DO know it can be treated.

luv4u said:

As I said, it varies from state, but don't give up. I would think your Mom could at least get her interviewed by a health professional, outside of any institution and they could help make recommendations for treatment, voluntary or not.

Good luck with it and let me know if you would like me to look at any specific state's statutes for you.

For those of you that don't know what it is or want to read up on this awful disease here's a link I found
http://www.helpguide.org/...atment.htm

Maybe you could see if there are therapists there that do DBT- dialectical behavior therapy. It can be very elpful for some people. Depending on how debilitated she is right now, maybe hospitalization will help.

I dearly love someone who has this problem. He does very well for a bit and then needs to get some help for a while. He can hide it very well but we are good at spotting the signs that the problem is back.
It's a multi- faceted problem that has to be addressed from all the different angles.
Lots of positivity coming your way

I hope she gets the help she needs.