Understanding the Complexities
Eating Disorders and Coercive Control
Explore the intricate relationship between eating disorders and coercive control, and learn how to navigate these challenges.
Types of Eating Disorders
The reality of an eating disorder and mental health illness
Eating disorders are so misunderstood and often dismissed by others. Eating disorders are mental illnesses even though there are physical signs over the body from the restriction of malnutrition. Some people suffer from an eating disorder where they can’t stop eating. This can be referred to as binge eating disorder bulimia. It’s so entwined with emotional and physical struggles and possibly undiagnosed neurodiversity mindset, including ADHD, dyslexia and autism.
Mental illness comes with a tremendous amount of vulnerability; people could easily use manipulation and abuse. Setting the stage is where Hollyoaks highlighted such a fantastic storyline around such an emotional topic.
Chloe McQueen's journey
Hollyoaks storyline: Chloe McQueen struggles with an eating disorder and abuse.
Hollyoaks has written an excellent storyline that is sensitively written. Chloe battles with bulimia, highlighting eating disorders as not only a personal struggle but also manipulation of her abusive boyfriend, who comes across as very loving and caring with an intense dark shadow side.
Coercive Control and Eating Disorders
Abe and Cleo’s boyfriend uses her eating disorder to isolate and control her. The storyline demonstrates that abuses exploit entirely the vulnerabilities within a person, especially with their mental health struggles, to exert dominance and primary control in the relationship. Abe has used Chloe’s eating disorder and forced feed her for power and his gratification. This type of eating disorder, where you don’t feel hungry or are forced to feed when not hungry, is called bulimia nervosa.
Physical and psychological abuse
The storyline not only portrays the physical violence but also the physical torture as Abe isolates her from her support network, including her family and her friends, and manipulates her insecurities around her eating disorder. Coercive control gaslighting is so common and something that isn’t addressed or spoken about because it’s so shameful and deep-rooted normalise.
Recognizing the Signs
Dangerous intersection of mental health and coercive control
How abuses exploit mental health and eating disorders is usually very unseen and misunderstood by outsiders. This provides an ideal platform for abusers to isolate their victims without being seen or recognised by others.
Invisible illness, some people may look fine physically, battling severe internal struggles. This gives abuses a complete edge as others will not recognise the horrifically awful situations is how deep the manipulation goes.
Lasting effect
Impacts on victims and damage of coercive control and coercive control gaslighting
The long-term effect can continue for much longer, even when the relationship has ended entwined behaviour, and the strong voice of control is hard to break. The fact that the person has a long history of low self-esteem and has already been completely henpecked at Breaking point, it will take a massive amount of strength for the Survivor to come through psychological abuse and helplessness of their abuser.
Raising awareness through media
The partnership between Hollyoaks and the office is enough campaign https://enoughabuse.org
It is so important to be able to address the violence against women and girls. This story is fictional and designed to raise awareness in the real world.
Coercive control can take the form of food-related abuse and doesn’t just happen to females; men can be victims as well. This can be more subtle but also incredibly harmful. Even more so, men don’t tend to speak out about abuse because they don’t want to become weak or be seen as not a man. Men can be overlooked and suffer in silence, feeling ashamed and confused about the situation, not realising that they are victims of abuse, too.
Men can also experience corrosive control related to food, though it’s often overlooked. This can involve being forced to eat or being ashamed about food intake, contributing to deeper emotional and psychological scarring. Male victims may hesitate to seek help due to societal stigma.
Helpful Resources
Further Reading on Eating Disorders
Understanding Coercive Control
Education and Advocacy
Bringing light to eating disorders and abuse
Hollyoaks storyline serves as a mirror to society, showing how common these forms of manipulation are and encouraging viewers to recognise the signs of abuse of an eating disorder in their own lives and others.
It is essential to educate and speak about the complexities of eating disorders and coercive control. Knowledge is power that breaks the cycle of abuse. Voice is important for understanding the correct environment. This is why early intervention and prevention help victims find their voice and seek support sooner.
Understanding coercive control and how to obtain a restraining order.
Coercive control is a form of emotional and psychological abuse that often flies under the radar. Very subtle manipulative abuse, it can be isolating people away from their friends and family and controlling their daily activities; who has a pretty good blog monitoring their movements or tactics around food to dominate or punish them? This isn’t always easy to recognise.
Keep coercive control/ eating disorder Journal.
Keeping an eating disorder journal is vital when dealing with coercive control. The journal should document each incident with a date, time, and factual description, keeping emotions out of it. Regular entries help build up a pattern of behaviour.
It’s very important to keep your emotions out of this and stick to the facts, gather information, inform of evidence, text messages, emails, and messages, say photos and screenshots. Have you had any witnesses observe the behaviour?
Be consistent in your documentation. Every incident does not need a login and might feel smaller than it seems. Coercive control is often repeated subtle action. Creating a pattern Will help build your confidence and stop you from feeling like it’s nothing.
Support
Coercive control restraining order
Contact an illegal advisor or domestic abuse service providing all of your evidence. Depending on where you live through the courts they will help you file a restraining order, and your legal advisor can help you with the paperwork.
Seeking Professional Help
Finding a Specialist
When it comes to treating eating disorders, finding the right therapist is crucial. Look for a mental health professional who specializes in eating disorders and has experience in treating similar cases. You can start by asking for recommendations from your primary care doctor or searching online directories of certified therapists.
Don’t hesitate to reach out for help. Many therapists offer initial consultations to discuss your needs and determine the best course of action. Remember, seeking help is a sign of strength, and the right therapist can provide the support and guidance needed for recovery.
Becky Stone
Hello! I’m Becky Stone, a qualified therapist based in Canterbury, Kent. With extensive experience in mental health, helping individuals become the best version of themselves.
Ready to start your journey to a healthier you?
Book a free 20-minute informal chat with an experienced counsellor and clinical supervisor specialising in Eating Disorder treatment and therapy in Canterbury, Kent. Let’s work together towards a better version of you.
I look forward to meeting you!
