Youngsters with eating disorders calls forced feeding abuse

Eating disorders Force feeding, Anorexia, mental healthEating disorders. Photo: Pixabay.com

Youngsters with eating disorders describe forced feeding as abuse

Many Norwegian patients feel abused when subject to force. Many youngsters perceive force feeding as abusive if they suffer from eating disorders.

 

To many patients, forced treatment they can not escape from, break down their self-esteem. Several patients have a negative experience with compulsory mental health care and use terms such as as concentration camps. This is shown in studies that PhD major, Olav Nyttingnes, has performed among youngsters and adult patients who have received treatment at Norwegian psychiatric hospitals, writes Forskning.no (Research.no).

Nyttingnes is to dispute his PhD thesis in psychiatry at Akershus University Hospital (Ahus) this week. He has researched how patients experience forced measures, which patient groups experience this the most and what compulsive measures are perceived as being the worst.

React to force feeding

Among young patients, one third state that they were subjected to forced treatment and eating disorders stand out. To many, it is perceived maltreatment to be force fed.

– Many of them state that they react strongly to being force fed, says Olav Nyttingnes.

The studies show that youngsters who felt the most forced, to a greater extent than others functioned poorer psychosocially and has worse relationships with their parents. Nyttingnes is however surprised that young people with psychosis perceive little use of force, while among adults  those with psychosis are the ones who experience the use of force the most.

– Is it possible that young people are treated differently, or are there any differences in the diagnosis between youngsters and adults, Nyttingnes, who believes there is a need for more research in this field, ask.

 

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today