Rebecca Adlington's Body Image Woes

Rebecca Adlington is an inspiration and a star. She has an amazing body and mind which have worked together to give her two Olympic awards, including gold medals.

But she is being tormented about her looks on social media and her tormentors are making her sad. How can we all bear this?

I have written her an open letter which I wont repeat here, but you might like to follow this link. How can we all support her in distancing herself from Appearance Bullies who are nobodies in their own lives trying to pull down people who have put their heads above the parapet.

Anyone who thinks it is a useful life quest to look like a beauty queen of dubious talent needs to have their head examined. Lets celebrate something different.

For my open letter visit below

http://eating-disorders.org.uk/an-open-letter-to-rebecca-adlington-about-appearance-bullies/

Anorexia NOT Increasing In Children?

In 2013 there was a media storm about increasing rates of childhood eating disorders that was picked up and chewed over relentlessly by eating disorder organisations.

Except by us. At the National Centre for Eating Disorders, when asked to comment about these new terrible findings, we said. Are you sure this is true?

Denying exciting and terrible news stories doesn't make good press. But we let the tide wash over us and like every tsunami it all drained away.

Now our thoughts have been confirmed. It appeared that journalists have been using the wrong information. This is wrong, and the terrible headlines should be disconfirmed.

For the new evidence and for our more detailed thoughts about childhood eating disorders please follow this link to our website.  http://eating-disorders.org.uk/anorexia-in-children-not-increasing/

Eating disorder organisations like us need not rely on alarmist stories to gain publicity. There is no need to shock the public in order to keep ourselves in profile. We must both  respond to real need and also to calm things down when they are lies, distortions and misinformation.

I Wouldn't Eat With You

A while ago I wrote a blog about carer burdens and someone thought that I was on the side of the carers. I wrote about my joy in eating and the lovely thing about sharing food with others. She said to me "I wouldn't eat with you."

When I had an eating disorder I wouldn't have eaten with me either.  But now I don't have an eating disorder and I would love to hold out hope for recovery.

Writing about carer burdens does not mean I'm on anyone's side.  Everyone in the grip of the eating disorder world lives in pain and in fear. I am not on the side of the Anorexic Voice but I am on the side of the person It talks to even though he or she cannot hear me.

I am on the side of healing and change.  No one with an eating disorder is happy even if their eating disorder helps them to feel safe for now.

I saw two parents last weekend whose daughter is in the early ferocious grip of anorexia. She is cold, tired and fainting and her heart is failing and she insists that she really doesn't need help. She measures every single calorie she eats on her iPhone and she may be unable to complete her college education.

 There aren't enough buckets in the world to catch the tears of parents who watch their child going through this and who wish it would simply end NOW. So, I am on the side of healing for  parents and sufferers. Healing is possible and healing sometimes means confronting ones deepest fears.

The eating disorder won't ever leave of its own accord. There is  no other solution other than to fight it with the right kind of help. I can help one sufferer and one carer at a time, and will, as long as I have the strength.

Scoffing And Starving Kids

This week I was at a meeting chaired by Rod Liddle about Childhood Obesity. To prepare for this event Rod had written a rather devastating overview of the situation which is not just about Britain, even in the so called health Mediterranean culture children are putting on weight an alarming pace.

We will be spending more on obesity related illnesses than we are spending on education. Is the solution just to deal with fat stigma, as proposed by the Health At Every Size brigade?

Later during the week India Knight wrote about the emerging problem of two year old children who have been admitted to hospital for obesity. Now in some young children, there are physical problems which cause obesity and which can be treated. In most fat children there is nothing amiss other than their diet.

I've written more thoughts on my website blog - Id love to know what you think, and you can see it here. http://eating-disorders.org.uk/starving-and-scoffing-kids/

Diet Drug Kills Young Man

A young male just over his A-Levels, living not far from me, has died taking DNP, an industrial chemical popular with bodybuilders to help them to lose body fat. Easily available online, this drug has recently killed a young female medical student who had been battling bulimia with the help of a counsellor.

How sad is this. How much a statement of our times. We don't only have pornography online, we have eating pornography with the entire paraphernalia of diet drugs, diet systems, crazy wacky weight reduction plans and pro anorexia websites that are intruding into our lives our peace and our well being.

This is all designed to make other people rich, this death is just collateral damage. Someone is laughing all the way to the bank.

I have written more on our website about young men who hate their bodies, young women who would rather die than FEEL overweight, and people who say that nothing bad will happen to me.

Please read more on http://eating-disorders.org.uk/diet-drug-kills-young-man/


And I repeat what I said on my website. Parents, teachers, coaches and sufferers take note.

 Nothing and I mean NOTHING is more important than health or wellbeing. Not winning at sports, not being a good dancer or a pretty daughter or the thinnest person in the room. NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN LIVING A HEALTHY LIFE IN A REASONABLY HEALTHY BODY.

End of story.

How Times Change

EATING IN THE  UK IN THE FIFTIES

   Pasta had not been invented.

   Curry was a surname.

   A takeaway was a mathematical problem.

   A pizza was something to do with a leaning tower.

   Bananas and oranges only appeared at Christmas time.

   All crisps were plain; the only choice we had was whether to put the salt on or not.

   A Chinese chippy was a foreign carpenter.

   Rice was a milk pudding, and never, ever part of our dinner.

   A Big Mac was what we wore when it was raining.

   Brown bread was something only poor people ate.

   Oil was for lubricating, fat was for cooking

   Tea was made in a teapot using tea leaves and never green.

   Coffee was Camp, and came in a bottle.

   Cubed sugar was regarded as posh.

   Only Heinz made beans.

   Fish didn't have fingers in those days.

   Eating raw fish was called poverty, not sushi.

   None of us had ever heard of yoghurt.

   Healthy food consisted of anything edible.

   People who didn't peel potatoes were regarded as lazy.

   Indian restaurants were only found in  India .

   Cooking outside was called camping.

   Seaweed was not a recognised food.

   "Kebab" was not even a word never mind a food.

   Sugar enjoyed a good press in those days, and was regarded as being white gold.

   Prunes were medicinal.

   Surprisingly, muesli was readily available, it was called cattle feed.

   P ineapples came in chunks in a tin; we had only ever seen a picture of a real one.

   Water came out of the tap, if someone had suggested bottling it and charging more than petrol for it they would have become a laughing stock.

   The one thing that we never ever had on our table in the fifties .. was elbows!

and ......People didn't eat in public!

Do you want to add to this list?  Please let me know

Sharing Meals: Carers And Eating Disorders

I haven't been here for a while, sometimes you just have to think about other things, like walks in the woods, going to the sea with family and eating ice creams (Cornish of course) and rejoicing in having the best fish and chips in the world arguably at Rick Stein's takeaway at Padstow.

And how nice that we were all able to sit down as a family and enjoy.

I think that it's possibly the worst thing in the world is to be with someone who won't share in the meal because they are on some kind of strange diet or they are allergic to fish or because they are terrified of eating. I've done a family check and everyone finds it traumatic and distressing when there is someone who won't or can't eat with everyone else.

Why? We're all individuals. Perhaps we have a caveman gene which puts us on alert when someone in the tribe is not thriving or participating. I have no idea why sharing a meal with  loved ones and sharing enjoyment is so important. Last night, youngest daughter cooked for us and eating together was central to the fun.

People with eating disorders really don't know how much of a burden they put on other people. Much more than other mental health problems. Maybe because sharing food seems to important to social health.

People with eating disorders  under-estimate the impact on carers, siblings and friends of strained atmospheres, the overall burdens of being with them and  the worries carers have about the future. Loved ones  worry about the effects of bizarre eating  on the sufferer and the effects of parent's behaviour on their children.

People with eating issues under-estimate the effort it takes to pretend not to notice bizarre eating habits or to try not to make comments. They under-estimate the stress of trying to encourage someone who is struggling.

When we offer unwanted care or attention is being offered, the person with the eating issue is likely to get aggressive or convince themselves that we are the problem not them.  Then we have to cope with their anger  AS WELL AS the stress and worry of their disorder. The carer struggles to figure out how to communicate their feelings without unleashing a tsunami.

It's not YOUR business says the sufferer. It's my choice to eat what I please. And so it is. No-one wants to be forced to eat things they don't want or like. Yet there is a fine dividing line where we can see that eating has become a form of self harm, and we react to it.

Poor carers.  How can we bridge the gap to make sure that people with eating issues are at least sympathetic to the trauma of living with someone who cannot eat around  the campfire with us.