Student teacher confidentuality on eating disorders?

i think i have an eating disorder . i am 16 years old and go to a 6th form collage i want to be normal but i cant do it on my own. I dont feel close enough to my parents to talk to them about it but there is a teacher at school i could . My parents dont notice that i dont eat they both work long hours and im one of four children. I have made my self throw up a couple of times and with in the past 6 weeks have lost 10 lb. My BMI is less than what it should be and i constantly go dizzy and light headed , is this related? I go through days where i only eat a small meal a day or when i dont eat at all for 3 days. I wanted to know that if i confided in a teacher would they have to inform my parents as i dont feel i can tell them or how they would react to the news. Any help would be greatly appreciated thanx xx

thanx for all the replys its help me think things through alot. I live in the uk does this mean that the confidentitaliy policy is the same ?

Low self-esteem is a common cause of eating disorders. It's very common in teenage girls.

This sounds like a cry for help; you want your parents to notice something is wrong, and they haven't. So now you feel worse, and are going to greater extremes.

This is not a good situation, and going to the school counselor, who may have to tell your parents, is still a good idea. They will approach your parents in a positive way, or if not, offer you resources to get help.

Please get help, and don't destroy your health with bulimia and anorexia. If you are being abused at home, there is help for you.

I wish you the best, and I hope you confide in someone who can help. If you parents are very judgemental, then I can understand your fear that they won't react well. Judgemental parents would be a good place to look as to the cause of your problem, as a matter of fact.

A teacher would talk to the school counselor first who has to contact your parents if they feel you have a serious problem that your parents need to know about. Good luck and I hope you get help.

Ur teachers shouldn't tell Ur parents unless u want them to. the dizziness an lightheaded is to do with not eating right. throwing up aint Gd for ya, wrecks ya throat an stuff. erm.. do u no wat could have started it off? ill talk if u want to. used to be anorexic

hi i know you mite not wanna tell ur mom incase u think they'll be angry with you but they wont it will be better if u tell someone becuz thn u cn gt help cus if u leave it to long then you body will be so starved it will start eating your organs wich can result in death. i kno it sounds harsh but it true as i have researched on eating disorders. tell sm1 bbz . x

Honey, you need to tell somebody, because it sounds like you are starting to ruin your health. because you are underage, I am not sure about the legal obligations of anyone you talk to...a teacher, councelor or minister, etc. First of all, if you keep on throwing up, you can cause permanent damage to your teeth and throat. secondly, if you are dizzy, it could be from not eating, or that your blood pressure is dropping, and you could fall and be seriously injured. If this continues long term, the health problems multiply like crazy. If this is a new problem for you (which it sounds like) the sooner you get help, the better off you will be. this problem lives in secret...once you have it out in the open it loses some of it's power on you. I think that you will probably have to tell your parents, or have the teacher you like do it. They may not understand, but they probably will sign forms for you so you can get the help you need. they may surprise you! If they are working long hours to support the family, maybe they are doing it to give you things, and they just happen to not be the right kind of things you need right now. I think you should give them a chance. I am a mom, and I have a son and a daughter, and they have both had to come to tell me things I did not want to hear, and we worked through it and we are closer than ever. I am sure it is totally normal to not feel close to your parents at your age, but you are almost an adult, and you need to take responcibility for yourself and get the help that you need. I wish you very good luck. be well.

Hey... thanks for sharing this on here. I think that it is great that you are being brave enough to recognize that this is a problem. I am not sure where you live... but in general, once someone is 16 they do not need to have their parents know everything. Actually, in alberta, I think it is 14 years old. Anyways. I agree with you that it is a smart decision to talk to the teacher that you are more comfortable talking with. You could even start off by asking if they would keep it confidential from your parents, and if they can't do that, if they could refer you to someone else who could:

"Hey, Mrs/Mr Jones... I have a personal issue that I would really like to discuss with you. I don't feel comfortable talking about it with my parents, and so I was wondering if it was possible for me to discuss it with you in confidence? If you are not comfortable not telling my parents, then could you please help me find someone that I could talk to privately about this...."

Teachers/doctors/counsellors etc are only required to tell outside help when it comes to life and death/safety issues like suicide or abuse.. and this doesn't always mean that they tell the parents, just that they tell other people that can help resolve the matter . So, you can reassure your teacher that it isn't these (unless it is).... and then go ahead and talk to them about it.

The symptoms that you are talking about, the dizzyness and the lightheadedness area also definitely part of the beginning of many other consequences.

You deserve to get help for this. Good for you for noticing. And I encourage you to keep up your bravery and talk to someone about it.

If in the end you do not talk to your teacher, then even try the counsellor at school, or a help line.

BUt the teacher would be best, as they know you, and care for you.

Let me know if there is any other way that I can support you....