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On Tuesday 27th February, Edward Argar MP for Charnwood, sponsored an adjournment debate on the importance of early intervention for eating disorders.
It takes almost three years, on average, between the onset of someone’s eating disorder and the point they seek help. Difficulty recognising their symptoms are those of an eating disorder and lack of understanding & awareness in wider society means it can be hard for people to get treatment.
It's common for people suffering with bulimia to slip under the radar. A lot of the time those suffering don't tend to look that differently physically, so how would anyone know what is going on?
After locking myself up for a whole spring, moodier and more stressed than I had ever been, pounds shredding off my body like grated cheese, I finally sat the CFA level III exam.
I started engaging in unhealthy habits in the summer after my first year of university. I had loved every moment; I’d joined a gym and swimming club, met an incredible group of friends and felt settled in my degree.
I turn 35 later this year. I think I’ve ticked a fair few of the stereotypical boxes – husband, career, mortgage. No children yet but we’re working on it. In a lot of ways, my life has gone to (a very happy) plan.
Eating disorders do not occur in a vacuum. Nobody suddenly wakes up having ‘contracted’ anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder. Although eating problems thrive on secrecy and can lead to painful isolation, they aren’t without context either.
I feel unable to say I have anorexia because my eating disorder makes me think my weight and my thoughts and behaviours around controlling food are normal. I am afraid I don’t deserve treatment, and my eating disorder tells me if my BMI isn’t as low as it could possibly be then it isn’t low enough.
Even though I sometimes feel that I woke up one day with an eating disorder out of nowhere, that definitely wasn’t the case. It grew over many weeks, months, even years.
Through a lack of intervention, I have moved from one eating disorder to another over the last 11 years. This is why it is imperative to seek help for yourself, or for someone you care about, because it isn't going to end on its own.
More than one in three adults (34%) in the UK, who gave an answer, could not name any signs or symptoms of eating disorders, according to a survey conducted by YouGov.
I have only ever been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and even within that, was someone who was able to access care after only around a year of struggling, which I know, sadly, is not the case for so many people.