Post Date: 6/16/10 10:06 pm Topic: RE: I've failed my child Hello, I know that this is a really old post, and normally I wouldn't reply because of the age of this, but I feel so strongly about this that I needed to. As someone who has gone through, IS going through, the same situation as your daughter, I can tell you that you will be dealing with severe consequences of this in a few years; not necessarily weight wise, but psychologically.
I read that you have battled your weight too, so you probably know firsthand the astouding amount of image issues that comes with being obese. With me, it has only gotten worse as I've gotten older. I have a family that has done nothing since I've become overweight/obese[since I was 7, I'm 19 now] but harp at me, pick at me. I've been told that I'm fat, that no boy is ever going to want to be with me, that I look stupid because of the clothes I'm wearing because I'm so fat. I feel at this point in my life that everything, in either a direct or indirect way, has been about my weight for over 10 years. I'm just starting to realize this now, but my life has been ruled by this, and been ruined by it.
I suffer from extreme depression and anxiety. It's partly due to my own horrible self image because of my weight, but the bigger part of it is because I've been put down by my own family members for so many years because of my weight. I think they probably all thought they were trying to help; "tough love" me into losing weight. What they didn't realize was that it had the reverse effect. There are days when getting out of bed is a monumental task, because I simply don't know if I can face another day being me because I dislike myself SO much. Socially, I can't even tell you...I don't want to leave the house, I feel like I don't even know how to act around people becaues I feel really like...awkward. I went to the movies with my friend from work last night and we barely spoke because I felt like he would hate me if I said something stupid. Looking back, he obviously wouldn't because he asked me, but you see the vicious cycle.
I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have rambled like that. It's not like you would or shoudl care about any of that. I'm just saying that I can tell you love your daughter and want to do right by her. But tough love doesn't always work, and sometimes it can do a lot of harm. Best wishes and prayers to you all...I hope that she never has to deal with any of these things and that she loves herself at any weight.