I think I have an eating disorder: What can I do?

Starting to think about your eating and / or body image concerns is a big deal. Getting informed about eating disorders can be a good place to start. Whether you’ve just started thinking about making changes, or you’ve been on the road for sometime – your situation and recovery journey is as unique as you are. However there are also likely to be some common themes. Getting clued up is worthwhile, but can sometimes feel like a bit of a minefield. There’s a wealth of food, eating, and eating disorder related information available online which can be contradictory, and not always consistent with recovery. FREED have developed some excellent guides and resources for young adults with possible eating disorders. Online / phone support, and lots of eating disorder information, including how to tell someone that you have an eating disorder is also available from B-EAT.

Some great information sheets and eating disorder self-help workbooks published by the Centre for Clinical Interventions can also be found online.

It can sometimes feel like family say or do the wrong thing. Providing family a bit of information about how to support people in eating disorder recovery generally, and in relation to your specific needs can often go along way.

While sometimes daunting, it is important let your GP know about any changes to your weight or concerns about eating. They will sometimes need to arrange monitoring of your physical health, and might also be able to make a referral to local specialist services.

If referral to your local service is not possible, or not suitable for your needs then you might consider looking for local charity or privately funded eating disorder support. What’s available can vary depending on where you live. Your local Mind website can be a good starting point. The charity BEAT also provider a help finder database, as does the CBT-E website, here. If looking for a private therapist, it is wise to ensure that they are suitably trained, and fully accredited with a regulatory body such as the BABCP; BACP; HCPC; UKCP; or BPC.

If you’d like to think about your situation with me, then please feel free to get in touch.