Check out this article from yesterday’s NY Times:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/an-older-generation-falls-prey-to-eating-disorders/?pagemode=print
I thought it was really interesting--- while not directly related to adolescent development, it made me wonder:
What was adolescence like for individuals who develop eating disorders during mid to late adulthood for the first time? (aka not a relapse)
Did they miss various developmental milestones during adolescence, and are now just revisiting them as older adults? (Ex/ acquiring sense of self, acceptance of one’s physique, understanding of one’s body, acquiring interpersonal skills)
What do you all think?
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
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Hey,
ReplyDeleteI remember hearing mention of this a few months ago and asking the same kinds questions you did.
Do you think part of it could have anything to do indirectly with empty nest syndrome, or a similar life change? That's about the age when some parts of life slow down a bit--especially for a parent. My parents promptly started going to the gym when I got to Vassar, and, now that my little brother's looking at college soon, my mom has started on a huge makeover for the garden. Could this extra time for yourself, or extra time to look at yourself, after many years of a hectic care-taker's lifestyle possibly be a huge aspect of this eating disorder incidence?
If you think about it a certain way, that age could really be kinda like a second partial adolescence--another time to get to focus more on oneself and to re-identify the individual within. You know, like instead of just "____'s Mom" they get to spend a lot more time building on themselves again.
Just a thought.