3 Things That People Struggling With an ED Might Relate to From “I’m Glad My Mom Died”
Jennette McCurdy is a former actress known for her role as Sam on the hit TV show ICarly.
What many people don’t know about her, is her lifelong struggle with anorexia, bulimia, and childhood trauma, caused by her manipulative mother. In her autobiography, “I’m Glad My Mom Died” McCurdy dives into her career as a child actress that she was coerced into by her mother. Throughout the book she shares about the development of, and her experience with, anorexia and bulimia.
The detail and openness that McCurdy uses to talk about her eating disorder can provide much support and relatedness to folks who are also struggling with an eating disorder.
This blog will briefly explore 3 main ideas that McCurdy talks about in her book that people struggling with an eating disorder might relate to.
Being taught about, being exposed to, and being encouraged to restrict food at a young age
At the beginning of her career as a child actress, Jennette is taught by her mother about “calorie restricting” in order for her to stay small and thin to book more roles. Her mother only allows her to eat salads with no dressing or croutons, water-dense fruits with low sugar, and foods that will “boost her metabolism.”
Jennette shares, “I start shrinking by the week as Mom and I team up to count our calories every night and plan our meals for the next day. We’re keeping me on a one thousand-calorie diet, but I have the smart idea that if I only eat half my food, I’ll only be receiving half the calories, which means that I will be shrinking twice as fast”.
These eating habits and goals of becoming and staying thin quickly became embedded in Jennette, launching her into years of struggle with anorexia, that her mother hid and denied from doctors.
Many people with eating disorders have had a similar influence in their life; parents and caregivers modeling and encouraging counting, tracking and restricting. This is a known risk factor of engaging in, and developing, disordered eating.
How her eating disorder affected her relationship with her partner
Throughout her book, Jennette opens up about how her struggle to overcome her bulimia impacted her relationships. At the beginning of one of her relationships, her partner suspected something was going on with Jennette. When he discovered evidence of eating disorder symptoms, he told her that if she didn’t get her problem fixed he would leave her.
Jennette also struggled with trying to work on her recovery while also trying to fix and take care of her partner's problems.
After her partner, Steven, was diagnosed with schizophrenia she stated that “the more time I spent focused on my issues, the less time I had to focus on Steven’s. And the less I was focusing on Steven’s, the further apart we grew.”
These are often significant issues that people struggling with an eating disorder face while in relationships. Jennette openly discusses her experience navigating relational struggles, pointing to the interplay of Complex PTSD and disordered eating.
The trial and error of recovering from an eating disorder and finding a right-fit-therapist
The path to recovering from an eating disorder is not an easy one, and Jennette shows her winding journey of trying different strategies and different therapists throughout her book. When Jennette starts therapy for the first time she is terrified by the idea of talking about her childhood trauma and abruptly quits altogether. When she is ready to try again, she finds a counselor with a different approach that fits her needs better. Jennette shares that with this doctor “I enjoy doing the packets. I like that I’m able to get myself on paper. It simplifies things for me. When everything’s in my head, it feels chaotic and jumbled.”
Jennette’s vulnerability about her experience with different therapists helps to normalize the journey of finding a therapist that is right fit.
Finding a therapist who you feel comfortable and safe with is an important step when starting or continuing your journey of Reclaiming YOU from your eating disorder. The therapists at Reclaim call this process an ongoing “vibe check!”
Hi! My name is Marissa Steinhauser!
I’m a psychology student who is passionate about spreading awareness on mental health and helping people become the best versions of themselves.
If you’re ready to start or resume your recovery from anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder or orthorexia, an eating disorder therapist on the Reclaim Therapy team would be happy to support you.
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Reclaim Therapy provides eating disorder treatment, EMDR for eating disorders and body image therapy.
Our team of trauma focused therapists also specialize in treating PTSD and CPTSD. We believe that all people are deserving of living a value driven, embodied life and are passionate about supporting our clients to from divest from our dieting obsessed culture and come home to their feelings, desires and their bodies.
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