Eating disorders are about more than food and body image. They’re caused by a complicated interplay of emotional, cognitive, and social experiences that lead to a preoccupation with body weight and shape and disordered eating behaviours.
Emotionally-based school refusal is often associated with anxiety. But there are many emotions and internal experiences that can lead to school refusal. These include separation anxiety, social anxiety, sadness and distress.
Emotional dysregulation develops when a young person’s emotional learning processes are disrupted. This might be because they lack stable environments and relationships that facilitate socio-emotional learning, or because their caregivers aren’t able to role model effective emotional regulation.
One common trait among ADHD young people is rejection sensitivity. Rejection sensitivity is a form of emotional dysregulation: difficulties in modulating and calming emotional reactions to internal or external events.
