Category: mental health

This article on improving access to eating disorder (ED) care is informed by my lived experiences, independent research, and involvement in the underappreciated field of quality improvement (QI). I live in the United Kingdom (UK), so my experiences and QI are of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). However, this...

A recent article published on this blog (Imagine a Global Board for Eating Disorders) proposed an international governing body that would bring together experts, voices from lived experience, advocates, and industry leaders to tackle the complexities of eating disorders. That vision is no longer an idea. It’s a reality. To...

“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.” The Uses of Sorrow, American poet, Mary Oliver (1935-2019) “Life is not fair. Don’t expect it to be.” I was sitting in the psychiatrist’s consulting suite, feeling...

I had a lovely surprise mid-morning. I unexpectedly heard a knock at my front door, and when I went to answer the knock, I was momentarily nonplussed. A bearded tradie in shorts, boots, shirt and hat was standing there. Then he spoke, and recognition flooded in – it was Darren,...

Kryptonite: something that can seriously weaken or harm a particular person or thing. * Compliments are generally seen as a good thing. Everyone likes to be complimented on appearance, intelligence, and accomplishments, to name a few. A sincere compliment can brighten a day that might otherwise feel dark and gloomy....

As the sole host of Korea’s Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW), I am researching the themes and issues to be covered in the seven sessions of our third event in February 2025. To fully understand and engage with these topics, I immerse myself deeply, processing them, formulating insightful questions to...

I reached for the phone. I was ready to accept the guidance of my minister and psychiatrist so I could become a person with normal behavioural habits. ‘I will go to the mental health hospital this Sunday,’ I vowed. ‘If I don’t go I will defer my recovery. I want...

Family Based Treatment is the best, evidence-based approach for most children and adolescents to get their life back on track when they develop an eating disorder – particularly anorexia nervosa. But what about those of us whose eating disorders developed before Family Based Treatment (FBT) became an option? Or those...

BMI or Body Mass Index is a term used frequently when discussing the health and weight management of humans. It appears in medical charts, insurance statistics and weight loss programs. People are judged by it constantly, sight unseen. In her book, “You just need to lose weight” and 19 Other...

Exercise is good, but excessive or compulsive exercise can be dangerous. At age 13, Kristen embraced the outdoors and enjoyed cross-country running at school. She was not overweight, had never been a big eater, ate little junk food and was not concerned about her body image, but she did want...