1-7 March is Eating Disorders Awareness Week, which is an international awareness event, fighting the myths and misunderstandings around eating disorders.
Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses affecting people of all ages, genders, ethnicities and backgrounds. People with eating disorders use disordered eating behaviour as a way to cope with difficult situations or feelings. This behaviour can include limiting the amount of food eaten, eating very large quantities of food at once, getting rid of food eaten through unhealthy means (e.g. making themselves sick, misusing laxatives, fasting, or excessive exercise), or a combination of these behaviours.
As part of this important awareness week, we spoke to Sarah McDonald, Clinical Psychologist for the Trust’s Eating Disorder Service. She spoke about how lockdown has affected people struggling with eating disorders and how you can get help if this relates to you or someone you know.
