Helplines
Please be aware that we are currently experiencing a higher-than-usual volume of emails, which means our response times may be slower than usual. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to get back to you as quickly as possible.
Our Helplines are open from 3pm– 8pm, Monday to Friday.
Support on the Helpline is available by phone, email, webchat through our social media accounts and by letter. Calls to the helpline are free from landlines and mobile phones within the UK and do not appear on itemised bills.
Sometimes our lines are busy. If you can't get through immediately, please do try again or try our one-to-one web chat or send us an email.
If you are in need of urgent help or medical advice for yourself or someone else please contact 999 or the Samaritans on 116 123 if you or someone else is in immediate danger. If you are looking for medical advice contact your GP or 111.
Beat provides Helplines for people of all ages, offering support and information about eating disorders no matter where you are in your journey. These Helplines are free to call from all phones.
Staff will end telephone calls if they consider the caller aggressive, abusive or offensive.
For your safety of yourself and the safety of others, our Helpline Advisors are unable to continue any call if you are driving, even if you're using a hands-free device. If we believe you're driving, we’ll politely end the conversation and ask that you call us back once you're safely parked.
Email support
Email support for England:
help@beateatingdisorders.org.uk
Email support for Scotland:
Scotlandhelp@beateatingdisorders.org.uk
Email support for Wales:
Waleshelp@beateatingdisorders.org.uk
Email support for Northern Ireland:
I've had great experiences when using Beat's Helpline services. The people I have personally spoken to have been very empathetic with all of my needs in my most challenging times.
Helpline User
Got questions about what to expect when calling the Beat Helpline for eating disorder support? We're here to help.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is fundamental to Beat’s services. However, there are some exceptional circumstances where we may pass on information, for example:
- We suspect a child may be at risk from harm.
- A contact is at serious risk of harm, either from themselves or others.
- A contact threatens or abuses our staff.
To ensure the quality and consistency of our services, support contacts may be monitored.
How we can help
If you contact our Helpline you will speak to a trained advisor experienced in providing support, information and signposting to people in a similar situation to you. Our helpline is action focused, giving you a space to explore your concerns and identify next steps.
You don’t need a formal diagnosis to use our Helpline
Our eating disorder Helpline advisors are trained to:
- Offer a supportive space for you to explore your feelings and thoughts around eating disorders.
- Provide information about eating disorders. When we do not have the information that someone is looking for, we might be able to give you some ideas about who might be able to help.
- Explore options for help with eating disorders and to enable you to come to your own decisions about what might be best for you. This might include NHS treatment, private therapy, support from charitable organisations, peer support or self-help.
I rang the Helpline because I was struggling so much, but the lady I spoke to was so lovely and listened to me. Without the Helpline, I wouldn't have been able to make the step to tell services and get the help I needed.
Helpline User
Interpreting service
Beat is a member of Language Line and can provide access to an interpreter on the phone callers whose first language is not English. Support can also be requested in Welsh.
Support to those in prison
Beat offers support to those in prison via its freephone telephone Helpline and also via post.
Letters should be addressed and sent to :
FAO Helpline
Beat
Unit 1 Chalk Hill House
19 Rosary Road
Norwich
Norfolk
NR1 1SZ
Other sources of support
It took a lot for me to call Beat; I was so nervous but I am so glad I did. Sitting here now knowing I am three years in recovery, I owe my life to Beat. If it wasn’t for the Helpline and making that initial call I really don’t know where I would be now.
Helpline User
Beat is a member of the Helplines Partnership, the membership body for organisations that provide Helplines in the UK and internationally.
Calls to this helpline are free from landlines and mobile phones within the UK and do not appear on itemised bills.