One of the things that really stuck out to me in this chapter was the initial diagnosis of infantile anorexia. The notion that someone could so easily diagnose a four-year-old child with infantile anorexia without first taking into consideration any family dynamics and relationships, or history, is pretty concerning to me. In a way, it says a lot about our society in the sense that we often tend to see body image as a catalyst in mental health.
It was also surprising-- although I'm sure Perry might address it later-- that Harlow's experiment with monkeys was not mentioned. The experiment essentially demonstrated just how important touch and affection can be. Monkeys chose between two different types of inanimate surrogate mothers: a wire mother and a clothed mother. Even when the wire mother held a bottle of food, the baby monkeys preferred to hang onto the clothed mother.
Again, just one more thing that I think is wrong with our society. We can really take this all for granted. I strongly feel like we place importance on material things and often forget how impactful and important it is to show affection. Might sound cheesy, but a hug can go a long way. And this lack of affection and touch proves to be detrimental to the development of a child. I don't know how many times I've seen children with their mothers or fathers, whether it's at the store or a restaurant, and the parents are ignoring their children, yelling at them while they're on their phones, and ignoring them as they cry. Granted, I should not be making assumptions about how other parents treat their children, but the neglect does happen. And it makes me think about what it would be like to work with children whose parents clearly fail to show their children the love and affection that they need? How do we possible let them know that they need to do a better job of loving their kids without telling them that they're bad parents?
It was also surprising-- although I'm sure Perry might address it later-- that Harlow's experiment with monkeys was not mentioned. The experiment essentially demonstrated just how important touch and affection can be. Monkeys chose between two different types of inanimate surrogate mothers: a wire mother and a clothed mother. Even when the wire mother held a bottle of food, the baby monkeys preferred to hang onto the clothed mother.
Again, just one more thing that I think is wrong with our society. We can really take this all for granted. I strongly feel like we place importance on material things and often forget how impactful and important it is to show affection. Might sound cheesy, but a hug can go a long way. And this lack of affection and touch proves to be detrimental to the development of a child. I don't know how many times I've seen children with their mothers or fathers, whether it's at the store or a restaurant, and the parents are ignoring their children, yelling at them while they're on their phones, and ignoring them as they cry. Granted, I should not be making assumptions about how other parents treat their children, but the neglect does happen. And it makes me think about what it would be like to work with children whose parents clearly fail to show their children the love and affection that they need? How do we possible let them know that they need to do a better job of loving their kids without telling them that they're bad parents?
I have to agree that arriving at an infantile anorexia diagnosis without doing a thorough social history on the mother, Virginia, is unbelievable. The idea that Laura would secretly “purge” her food at the wee hours of the night, despite being fed by a tube, seems particularly preposterous. I would think Munchausen syndrome by proxy would be a more likely possibility. Again, a thorough social history may reveal clues about that possibility as well.
ReplyDeleteThe Harlow experiment is germane to this discussion and would be interesting if Perry had introduced it. Another topic somewhat related would be the documented cases where young chimpanzees have died as a result of their grief and depression after losing their mothers. They would literally die from a “broken heart.” I think maybe I watched too many Jane Goodall specials years ago.
I also agree that there is a lack of affection in many areas of our society. I’ll use a basic rule at my place of work. I work with folks that have intellectual disabilities. There is a long history of physical and sexual exploitation with this population. There are also occasions when people with intellectual disabilities struggle with maintaining proper boundaries. So, I get the rule that staff should not hug the residents but I can’t help but think that many of the residents are starved for affection. I also think that more than just a few of the residents have histories similar to Laura and Virginia. This chapter and your post have prompted me to consider how I can address the problem.
Your original thought about how Laura was diagnosed at 4 years old with infantile anorexia mirrored also my shock at how a girl so young, whose developmental brain is has not even developed to the point of choosing to restrict food based on a dysmorphia about her figure and body. Even as I describe it here, it makes me cringe knowing how ridiculous this diagnosis without consideration of the developmental age of this child. Furthermore, what I found even more frustrating was that this diagnosis was given to her probably because she is a girl. I confidently believe that if Laura had been a boy, she would not have received this diagnosis, and most likely would have been labeled a different diagnosis all together. What is also distressing is that Laura had already been admitted in to the hospital 20 times, had been to see 6 specialty clinics and had a pile of paperwork 4 ft tall, which begs the questions, where was the social worker?!
ReplyDeleteYour other point about touch also made me consider how everyone’s level of touch is different. There are some people that definitely are more open to giving and receiving affection than others and some who don’t communicate their love or kindness in that way. I would also say that how open or not open you are to affection and touch is also a result of your culture and your environment. I know in Mexican culture and some other Latin American countries you greet everyone with a kiss on the cheek, and other cultures where men show affection to other men by holding hands. Our culture is definitely more reserved about affection and this is especially true in our social work profession. I work in a school with middle school students and I have to be very cognizant of my and the young person’s boundaries on touch and hugs, especially if I know the student’s past history. I struggle with this issue all the time because I know how many of the students don’t receive appropriate touch from family or caregivers and we know how important touch is to their cognitive and emotional development, but also is it my role to fill that need? I worry about this issue, also because I look like I could be a 17-year-old student and therefore, I don’t want to blur any lines. I definitely never initiate any touch unless I have built enough rapport with student and I, myself feel comfortable with it as well.
I think that your comment about infantile anorexia is spot on. The idea that any problem that a child has is immediately classified as a physical and medical issue is a trend that I think we see more and more of today. The impact of human connection, physically and emotionally, is often ignored or minimized. It makes me wonder if that is simply because its hard to study, and a concept that is hard to measure? In particular, what levels of touch are needed for a child. I'm thinking about if a child has autism and does not like to be touched, how does that child gain comfort? I think that ultimately its about what is the best for that child.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stood out to me was that all of the medical teams never looked at the mother, and their interaction, as a factor in her health issues. I'm glad that Perry was able to change that interaction and help this child!
You touched on multiple important points here. The first being the concern you felt from the doctors diagnosing the child with anorexia before analyzing her history. This is where it is important to keep in mind, as Perry mentioned, that you cannot treat the body without treating the mind. This is a topic that I keep in mind often, and I am glad that hospitals are acknowledging this now more than ever. Specifically in Dell Seton, they follow a collaborative care model which is an integrated care model that was developed at the University of Washington with the goal of providing quality medical AND mental health care in one clinical setting. You can read more about it here if you're interested: https://aims.uw.edu/collaborative-care
ReplyDeleteAnother point that you made, was the lack of affection we see in society because of materialistic things. I agree, as technology continues to develop, I feel as though this issue will continue to grow. Affection and quality time will decrease as the use of our phones and who knows what new technology our world will come up with that prevents us from interacting with each other. As the monkey experiment shows, mammals prefer touch and affection. Many parents believe following the simple routine of feeding, bathing, and changing is enough for their child, but research has show that healthy development goes beyond that.