eating disorder awareness

It is Eating Disorder Awareness Week which is all about raising our awareness of eating disorders and supporting an increase in education and training. This post is in collaboration with @tcnutrition, a specialist eating disorder Dietitian.

Eating disorders are devastating mental illnesses that affect 1 in 50 people in the UK. We heavily rely on our GPs to spot early warning signs to ensure that people get the help they need but unfortunately, the average GP receives less than 2 hours of education on eating disorders.

We are also aware that this week can be overwhelming for many. So, we hope that the following advice supports you in looking after yourself and your relationship with your food, body, and movement this, and every other week of the year:

• Social media detox. There are many positives that come from social media, however, it can be a dangerous place for comparison, reducing self-esteem and increasing body image concerns. Make sure to curate your feed and unfollow any accounts that do not serve you in your recovery (even if it is a friend or family member). We suggest you consider unfollowing accounts of people who are struggling in their own recovery if this doesn’t help to motivate or inspire you, any page that promotes “what I eat in a day” videos or pages that use air-brushing or editing to change appearance. It might also be worth taking a break from social media altogether.

• Take time to reflect and challenge eating disorder behaviours. That may be writing a dialogue, journaling, writing down something you are thankful for, saying affirmations, taking quiet time or talking with people you love.

• Be kind to yourself. Recovery is hard. It is important to expand your life outside of the eating disorder. Do things that make you smile — that could be catching up with loved ones, or pursuing a new or old hobby such as dancing, painting, or knitting.

If you are struggling this week, please know you are not alone, and that recovery is possible.

For support with an active eating disorder, please seek advice from a specialist eating disorder Dietitian like @tcnutrition and other specialists like @embodyhealthlondon, @mindfulnutritionpractice, @sarahelder, @theeddietitian, @priyatew, @lisawaldronnutrition. Some charities providing eating disorder support include @beatedsupport and @talkedcharity @seedsupportuk.