Eating disorders pose a dual challenge on Cape
Cape Cod TimesJul 31, 2017
"Girls were very cautious about the way they looked. They kind of thought that I should lose a little weight," she said. "I didn't need to. I've never been over 120 pounds. It all started and got out of hand."
Briggs, who lives in
There are some resources here, but
"I came home to nothing," said Briggs, describing her stays at treatment centers in
It's unclear how many people suffer from eating disorders on the Cape. Briggs said she doesn't personally know anyone else affected.
"But I recognize it all around me," she said.
At present, there are no treatment facilities on the Cape dedicated solely to eating disorders. Such facilities provide meals, intensive therapy and other services that are extremely valuable to people seeking to recover. The lack of facilities here poses financial and other problems for victims and their families.
Initially, Hostetter's daughter did in-patient care at Walden and stayed there overnight. But when she moved on to out-patient care, she had to return home every day after her treatment.
Hostetter was able to take off work to help her daughter, but not everyone has that option.
"A lot of people can't do the hard drive," she said. "Tons of kids have eating disorders, but there's not a ton of help."
The services available on
"The treatment is very intensive initially," Hostetter said. For example, her daughter had her meals prepared daily at Walden.
For those who do go away for treatment, services such as therapy, support groups and out-patient centers are needed to keep the recovery process on track.
"When you come home, you need a support group. Alcoholics have AA," Briggs said. "You can go away, but you are going to come home to nothing. You can't even get a psychologist or a therapist."
Hostetter decided to form her own group for
Although the Cape lacks treatment centers dedicated solely to eating disorders, there are other options.
"If someone can connect to a practitioner that deals with eating disorders often, it can be a great gateway," said
It's a growing problem," said nutritionist and dietitian
"Right now we have a very intensive case," she said. "We're in constant communication with their physician and psychiatrist."
They also can be interim support for people coming out of intensive programs.
"There's a belief that there's no help or resources if you don't get connected to a provider right away," Richmond said. "As you can see there is a lot of help out there."
For overeaters, there's
the Cape needs more of such support groups for people with eating disorders, as well as higher-level care.
"Someone who is medically compromised has to go into
Therapy can also be expensive. Briggs said private practices she's spoken to in
"I don't have that," she said.
Richmond acknowledges that finances can be a big hurdle.
Hospitals will treat some of the severe side effects of eating disorders, such as heart failure, which Briggs experienced this spring. "I owe them (
Long-standing prayers for an in-patient center on
Mulcahy said Walden's presence would benefit the Cape community. Inpatient programs provide around-the-clock treatment, she said.
"They (clients) eat meals (there) and gradually transition," she said.
On
"It is an issue, not that opioids and everything else isn't," said Briggs on why she decided to tell her story to the media. "I don't want to live the rest of my life like this."
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