Eating disorders awareness week

1 in 50 people in the UK and around 1.25 million people are living with a diagnosed eating disorder.

Eating disorders affect the way a person thinks about food, eats, and feels about their body.

For some people, food can become a way of coping during tough times. This might include bereavement, relationship breakdown, losing a job, housing difficulties, trauma, or extreme stress. Controlling food may feel like a way to manage overwhelming emotions or situations.

Types of Eating Disorders

There are several recognised types of eating disorders.

• Anorexia nervosa: restricting food intake and fear of gaining weight.

• Bulimia nervosa: eating substantial amounts of food, followed by vomiting, over-exercising, or using laxatives.

• Binge eating disorder: regularly eating copious quantities of food, feeling out of control, feelings of guilt or distress.

• OSFED (Other Specified Feeding or eating disorder) symptoms do not fit neatly into the categories above but are serious and require treatment.

Accessing Support

If you or someone you know is living with an eating disorder, the first step to accessing help is to make an appointment to speak to the GP. A Dr can discuss best support options available, arrange tests and may make a referral to specialist treatment services.

Community is important when someone suffers an eating disorder, having a support network can make a big different to recovery, this includes friends & family.

If you know someone who may be struggling with an eating disorder, you can help by listening without judgement and encouraging them to seek professional support.

Offering practical help with everyday tasks can also ease pressure during recovery.

Healthwatch Southend is here to listen. We provide free, independent information and guidance about health and social care services. We also want to hear about your experiences so we can work towards improving support for everyone in our community.

Call us on 01702 416320 or email: info@healthwatchsouthend.co.uk

Local support

Beat is a national eating disorders charity and provides a wealth of online and telephone support including downloadable resources.

Beat

FREED stands for First Episode Rapid Early Intervention for Eating Disorders and provides help for younger people aged 16-25 years for eating disorders.

FREED

Livewell is an online health and wellbeing directory for people in Southend, they have a dedicated page with support contacts for many conditions including adult mental health

Livewell