Caregiving and Eating Disorders: Expect the Unexpected
Nobody is to blame for an eating disorder. Although you may be trying to help, it may seem like you are constantly fighting an uphill battle. Eating Disorders are extremely complicated and impact not only the sufferer but also family members in ways that are hard to imagine. As caregivers, our ability to look after ourselves is tested every day. Learning to expect the unexpected and to approach each day as a new beginning has been key for webinar presenters, Wendy Preskow and Michelle D’Amico, in navigating their caregiving journeys. As Wendy and Michelle share their respective caregiving experiences in this webinar, you will learn about the caregiver’s role in supporting recovery from an eating disorder and strategies and resources, including caring for yourselves as well as others.
Wendy Preskow founded the National Initiative for Eating Disorders in 2012, after realizing that there was very little help available for her daughter, who was suffering from this serious mental illness. Over the past nine years, Wendy has been a strong advocate for change, speaking about the need for increased funding for early intervention and treatment, and about her role as a compassionate caregiver to her adult daughter who continues to strive for inner peace and happiness. Michelle D’Amico has been a volunteer with NIED for the past five years and has been in the Executive Director role since November 2021, when she left her career in the federal government to work with NIED. Michelle is the parent of a young adult who developed an eating disorder as a teenager and is now committed to sharing her caregiving journey with others, so they don’t feel alone.