Tag: Eating Disorder

Consider six propositions strongly supported by research: 1. Eating disorders (EDs) are serious, sometimes chronic mental illnesses. 2. There will never be enough qualified therapists and other professionals to treat the number of patients with EDs, especially since mood disorders and substance use disorders are more prevalent. 3. EDs are frequently difficult to...

Feeling misunderstood is one of the most difficult and emotionally painful aspects when experiencing an eating disorder. My parents and sister, after decades of witnessing behaviours driven by my illness, gave up trying to understand me. Do I blame them? No. I accept that they did not understand my illness....

My eating disorder started when I was 15 and in Year 10. My illness was probably triggered by multiple factors, but the one I remember most was having to weigh myself in the physical education class as part of our fitness testing. I noticed that I was gaining weight but...

The most important thing you can do when assisting someone with an eating disorder is to prepare by educating yourself as much as possible about eating disorders. You will need to constantly remind yourself that behind this illness is the person you are trying to reach and care for. The...

Speaking to Dr Daniela Araujo about what to write in this blog post, I asked what she thought was special about the exchange of poems that have flown back and forth around the world between Chile, Brazil, and now Australia. The conversation went something like the following. Dani paused for...

Help shape the future of an unpublished book about recovery from anorexia A new study run by Oxford University researchers is investigating the effects of reading a memoir about recovery from anorexia prior to publication. Key points: Existing findings on bibliotherapy for eating disorders suggest potential for significant help and...

I saw anorexia nervosa (AN) coming. It did not strike me suddenly. I had developed AN as a girl, and the thing I feared most about becoming a mother was that it could return in my life, harming one of my children. So, when my daughter Arianna (Ary) started to...

Whatever mess we find ourselves in, hope is our most powerful get-well tool. When we experience illness or trauma, our recovery becomes a journey and a destination. Along the way, hope provides a lantern when shadows surround us. Our wellbeing aligns with recovery and this has many parts – our...

Is anxiety related to the later onset of anorexia? Is anxiety related to the maintenance of anorexia? A reader shares her experience ahead of a FEAST webinar that will explore this issue. I feel it in my bones. I feel it deep, deep inside me, like every cell is made...

When young, I never imagined the world had a plan of its own. I was only aware of my existence and those close to me, never questioning there was choice between how, where, what or why anything may happen and how I was expected to manage the external world when...