I wanted to fundraise for Beat because I suffer from anorexia nervosa. I reached crisis last year when I was hospitalised for six months, but that should never have happened.

I can say now with confidence that the government’s obesity strategy is not going to work.

Overcoming adversity is one the biggest things that I struggled with three years ago when I first developed bulimia nervosa. For so long I refused to accept it to myself and lived in denial.

When we are bombarded with “New Year, New You” messaging and diet talk, January can be a difficult month for people with eating disorders.

I wanted to offer an insight into how I am now, near enough four years into a robust recovery, following ten years of a very active and debilitating eating disorder. I am certainly not perfect in my recovery and this was the main point I wanted to try to get across.

I can't eat, I'm not hungry, I can't eat, I feel sick, I can't eat, I'm too busy, The excuses are slick.

We talked to our Helpline Manager, Sam, about some of the common questions her team gets around this time of year, and her insights and tips for dealing with the challenges of Christmas.

Why do we perpetuate this enormous lie, that sets a beauty standard that makes grown women cry?

For many years I accessed online support for bulimia and was repeatedly told ‘recovery is always possible’. This felt really hollow to me. People kept telling me it was possible but not how it was possible.

I was still in the healthy weight range (most of the time), my blood tests were coming back and everything was in the green and where it should be, so I was healthy, right?

I’d moved to Thailand after graduating to teach English. I developed a bit of anxiety and unhappiness due to loneliness, which I controlled through eating. Unfortunately, I took it too far, and upon my return, was admitted straight to hospital.

I am following my meal plan as best I can; I’m steadily gaining back the weight I tried so hard to lose. I am back in the healthy weight range for my age and height, so I’m recovering. Right?

To my fellow fighters: as you know, eating disorders are often glamorised and seen as a fashionable thing had by models and celebrities. As you know, the harsh reality is not so glamorous.

I seem to have lost the old me,
Forgotten the woman I used to be,
I used to be brave, I used to be strong,
When and how did things go so wrong?

I am not the stereotypical eating disorder sufferer. I am overweight and middle aged, so therefore am I sure that I have bulimia? I have been asked this question many times and each time it hurts that little bit more.

The evident stigma that’s often associated with mental health increases my passion towards trying to eradicate it and show how mental health is actually something that should not be trivialised.

As a sufferer of a severe eating disorder, I have spent a substantial amount of time throughout my journey reading stories of people who are recovered and have beaten their eating disorders and of those who have learned to beat or cope with other mental illnesses too.

So what are you supposed to do? When you no longer look broken, needing to be repaired. By the people surrounding you, to be nurtured and protected from the outside world.

We're delighted to feature a guest post by Eva Musby, author of Anorexia and other Eating Disorders: how to help your child eat well and be well, about our campaign to introduce waiting times standards in Scotland to match those laid out for young people in England.