Your Stories

We might not be able to change the prevalence of eating disorders overnight, but we can improve the system that treats them.

Particularly with binge eating disorder, it’s so easy to get trapped in your own head and convince yourself that you are the problem and are unworthy, and this can be so, so dangerous.

In the run-up to Christmas, there is a lot to juggle. The gifts we need to buy, the plans we have to make to see loved ones, how we might manage disruptions to our routine - all of these things can be difficult to handle at once.

Whatever this Christmas season is like for you, I want to give you hope for the Christmas future. I can't tell you that recovery is linear, or that five years on I don't still have wobbles and moments of doubt. But I can say that all of my efforts, all of the hard work and fear that has gone into my recovery has been worth it.

What a year 2020 has been in general for everyone – it was a year no one ever could have imagined, from panic buying, toilet roll shortages, lockdowns and restrictions. Yet for so many, including me, the battle against an eating disorder continued.

I understand how the hustle and bustle of Christmas bells and laughter can be so quickly swept away by the intrusion of food-related thoughts that spark from the voice of an eating disorder. I wanted to remind each of you that even though things appear rather dark right now, there is hope!

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.

Living with Bulimia lifts the lid on the truth about eating disorders. Now we must reconsider the way we think about and treat them.

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

I can’t remember exactly when my relationship with food became toxic but, once it did, it was like a snowball rolling down a hill, getting larger and larger and faster and faster.

I want to say that my disordered eating habits crept up on me, but I remember giving this side of my disorder great thought and careful consideration. It was my disordered thinking that weaved its way into my mind and took hold.

As an individual who often struggles to verbalise disordered thoughts, attempting to engage in therapy and meaningful conversations is something I find hugely challenging. I