Children's Hospital Colorado helps struggling teen with the "mind games" of eating disorders

More and more Colorado children and young adults are suffering from eating disorders. Diagnosis rates have increased since the pandemic, and patients are showing more severe symptoms. When Kendall realized she was struggling with food she turned to Children's Hospital Colorado's Eating Disorders Program.

"Spread your wings… to just remind me to be brave and open minded to different circumstances," Kendall explained about a picture she created during her time in the program.

It's a message she takes to heart every day. Art therapy was one part of the treatment that Kendall got from the Eating Disorders Program. She also did talk therapy, worked with dietitians and learned a lot about anatomy. Children's Hospital Colorado also offers family support services, so when Kendall went home, everyone was on the same page.

"No one wants to be in the hospital, but for what it was, being in the eating disorders program, it was actually enjoyable," Kendall recalled her time at Children's Hospital Colorado.

Two years ago, Kendall was in the throws of a serious eating disorder. Her art therapy was a place where she could explore her feelings and learn how to manage them.

"Eating disorders are like a mind game. They tell you they're so good for you, but it's really not," Kendall said.

The foundation for Kendall's eating disorder started in the 7th grade. She was being bullied about her size.

"A lot of the time I was called like 'fat', 'whale', hippo,'" she remembered. "It just felt really uncomfortable to think that's what people were thinking about me, and that's how people saw me and not for who I actually was."

Like most people do, Kendall turned to the internet for information on how to change how she looked. By the 8th grade, she was tracking everything she ate and severely restricting her calories. She had changed schools, made new friends, and no one saw her that way anymore, but she still saw herself as that.

"I didn't think I had a problem originally. I thought, 'Oh, I'm being healthy. This is good for me,'" she said.

What seemed good, soon turned bad. Kendall's heartbeat got dangerously slow. Doctors at Children's Hospital Colorado diagnosed her with a malnourished heart due to anorexia.

"I guess the next day, I told my Mom, 'I just don't feel comfortable eating food. It's something I'm afraid of, and I don't want to be afraid of it,'" Kendall told CBS News Colorado.

 Kendall was in the hospital two times, and spent months in the Eating Disorders Program, but she did master the mind game that is an eating disorder.

"I think with what I learned at Children's, it's just all implemented in my brain. I don't have fears of food. I don't have thoughts of what I'm putting in my body, where I don't have to plan out what I'm doing every day, what I'm eating," she said.

Kendall is a junior now and a member of her high school cheer team. She's happy and healthy and credits it all to Children's Hospital Colorado.

LINK: Courage Classic Bike Tour for Children's Hospital Colorado

Kendall is excited to be among the speakers at this year's Courage Classic Bicycle Tour for Children's Hospital Colorado. The event is Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21, 2024. The tour starts at Copper Mountain with several different routes that very in length and difficulty.