2023-12-21 21:19:52
“Our patients are not only concerned, they are obsessed and terrified by the holiday season,” says the doctor specializing in psychiatry at the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS.
TCA is the most fatal mental health disorder in Quebec. Around one in ten people will have to fight this “serious disease not to be neglected” during their life.
Dr. Boily has run a clinic since 2016 allowing thousands of people, mostly women, to follow a 12-week therapy with the ultimate goal of freeing them from their food obsessions.
However, these people sometimes try to avoid holiday gatherings, where food is abundant, explains Mylène Lefebvre, psychologist at the TCA clinic of the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS.
“It’s something that scares them,” adds Dr. Boily. “They are afraid of breaking their eating rules or losing control with food.”
What to say to someone with an ED?
It is indeed possible that someone close to us is currently suffering from a TCA, underlines Ms. Lefebvre. It is therefore important not to comment on the physical appearance of a loved one during the holidays and instead ask how that person is doing.
For her part, social worker Sarah-Maude Tanguay recommends that the population offer support to the person “without focusing” on their ED and their weight.
According to Ms. Tanguay, many people suffer from a TCA without really realizing it.
“It’s not because you don’t meet the criteria we see in the movies that it’s not the case,” she concluded.
See Alexandra Paré’s report in the video.
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