Category: Eating Disorders

My son Joe developed anorexia at the age of 12 in 2002. He lost 25 per cent of his body weight in 12 weeks. Since that torrid time, I have known that caring for a loved one with an eating disorder is exhausting, distressing, disorientating, excruciating and terrifying. As with...

I’ve broken yet again. What hope have I got? I wonder, but I must have hope. Must not I, for when I think there is none, I want to die because one cannot live without hope. (Diary excerpt, 1991) I’m 40 years old. The next day I regress further.  I’m...

A decade ago, my husband and I purchased an elliptical machine from a store that specialized in exercise equipment. The purchase price included a complementary session with a personal trainer. We took advantage of this offer, mostly to get some valuable pointers on how to use the machine and all...

It happened fast. Suddenly we were stuck in this black hole called anorexia nervosa. I had no idea how we’d gotten there so quickly, nor did I know how to get out. My 10-year-old (soon to be 11-year-old) daughter developed anorexia over the past year. Although she had probably already...

Yesterday was one of those days that did not work out as planned. All went well, initially. I was in the local, heated, 50m outdoor pool by 6.10am, doing a half-hour of prescribed exercises. I love being in the water. Then I came home, showered, and took Maisie for a...

Dear Friends, My plans at the start of this year were to work less, play more, stay upright (that is, don’t fall over) and stay well. My diary reveals I have ticked most of these boxes but, as always, there is room for improvement. Here are some of the things...

Being a child with an eating disorder is no fun. I survived a 15-year-long battle with anorexia, the deadliest psychiatric illness. My childhood was shadowed by ruminating on my body’s appearance, constantly exploring new ways of secretly hiding uneaten food, and exercising intensely. During short periods of adolescence when I...

Early responses to the call for family stories about experience with Family Based Treatment (FBT) for treatment of anorexia nervosa have been a revelation. I posted the call on my blog in October to invite first-person stories for the Second Edition of My Kid is Back – Empowering Parents to...

So, you want to write your memoir? A memoir is a story about part of your life. What part do you most want to write about? Why? My memoir, A Girl Called Tim, is about my life with an eating disorder from age 11 to age 55. As I entered...

A new counselling service is providing education and support for those caring for someone with an eating disorder. Eating Disorders Families Australia’s (EDFA) new Fill The Gap counselling service is specifically designed to support eating disorder carers during the often long and exhausting years of supporting a loved one through...