Hi there

[a_Cheshire_Cat]

I was diagnosed with Bulimia Nervosa in July of last year, and was due to do a course of self-directed therapy with a specialist. However, I moved cities for a new job, and so had to redo my assessment with a new hospital. Now, because of COVID-19, I've been told that they can only offer treatment to people with severe symptoms, and that they most likely won't be able to help me. I still need to find out if there'll be treatment available once COVID-19 isn't such an issue, but for now there's not much they can do.

It's a pretty rough blow, considering how long it took for me to even get an appointment, and because I was promised help and have now had it taken away. I thought that if I can't get any help through the hospitals, it might at least help to look for some support somewhere else. Any advice would really be appreciated.

[crazycrossstitcher]

Have you tried the Anorexia and Bulimia Care helpline - they really helped me - it may take time to get though - they have befrienders - who I found extremely supportive. BEAT also offer support. I know how you feel - I now have sessions by phone - as I'm in the middle of my course of counselling - but I find it doesn't really work very well as its no interactive enough.

[a_Cheshire_Cat in reply to crazycrossstitcher]

I'm signed up with BEAT, but I'll have a look at the helpline.

[Hidden]

Hi, I am really sorry things are so difficult right now--COVID has really caused so much disruption for everyone and I am sorry it has delayed your ability to get treatment. When I first started recovery, I started the process on my own. Of course, over time I did seek out counseling--for me, it was important to get to a more stable place before I could disclose to my doctor.

What helped me was to seek out and really immerse myself in the online recovery community. Of course you have to be very mindful about who you listen to--there are a lot of quasi-recovered people claiming they have the answers. People who were/are really helpful to me are Tabitha Farrar (she has a blog, YT channel, and podcast), Kathryn Hansen (blog and podcast), Kayla Rose Kotecki (Damn the Diets on YT), and Isabel Foxen Duke (newsletter and she does a lot of podcast interviews). I think all of these people really helped me understand what was going on biologically and they all stress recovery without restriction, which has been really key for me. I hope this gives you a solid place to start working on recovery until you can get professional treatment.