Eating disorders

Eating disorders don’t just happen because people are worried about their weight or how they look. They are often a way of trying to cope with negative emotions and feelings about of lack of control over things and sufferers can be male or female.

There are many different types of eating disorder, like anorexia or bulimia as well as less well know ones like binge eating disorder (BED) and eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS) where sufferers show some of the symptoms of eating disorders but not enough to be diagnosed with a full eating disorder.

What can you do?

If you have a problem with your eating habits, you need to speak to your GP to get some help. If you don’t think you can face doing that, find someone to confide in and talk it through. If you don’t feel that you can talk to a friend or parent or carer, try talking to someone anonymously like the EDA Youthline on 0845 634 7650.

If you are concerned about a friend, don’t confront them about it if they’re trying to hide it as they will probably get defensive and try to hide it even more. Just let them know you’re there for them if they need you, and try talking to them to work out what else is on their mind.

Remember that although having a friend they can trust will really help, any eating disorder will need professional treatment, preferably before the problem gets any worse. You are dealing with something that is potentially life threatening. Try to encourage them to get help themselves.

If you want to find out about eating disorders, go to the young people’s page of www.edauk.com or ring their helpline on 0845 634 7650 (open 4pm to 6.30pm weekdays or 1:00pm to 4:30pm Saturdays . You can also text them on 07977 493 345 and they will get back to you within 24 hours (not weekends).