Finding extra support for recovery from Bulmia and anorexia nervosa

[dancing_94]

Hey, I am 18 and coming to terms with how ill i have become as a result of an ED.

I have underlying mental health issues that are also being assessed as a part of a psychiatric assessment.

These problems make certain normal forms of support hard as i dislike being with groups of other people and suffer extreme homesickness so residential care is a no for me.

I also have problems with relationships with my family that have been there long before the ED.

I was hoping someone would be able to recommend some good councillors or groups that are less rigid then going to a private clinic if anyone had any other things they did during recovery like yoga mediation reflexology, massage?

anything really i am up for giving it all a go i just want to be better to be happy and well.

i feel so bad for my parents watching me spiral down and am determine that now i have accepted the illness i will battle it face on

Thanks for all your advice in advance

[rainey999]

Hi there.

You are taking the first step in wanting to get better, so well done

In some places they have day clinics which might be easier for you to attend, so they support you getting back in control of your eating whilst also seeing a therapist at the clininc regularly too.

They will also offer your family the opportunity to help them cope supporting you.

Perhaps it is worth talking to your GP?

Stay strong !!!

[dancing_94 in reply to rainey999]

Thanks so much rainy99

It's really good to know others care understand I have looked into a few day clinics but am yet to find one both me and my family like. My GP checks my weight and bloods at the moment and my psychotherapist although I find it hard to speak around him for a genuinely unknown reason is a specialist in EDs at great ormand street so on paper I am in good hands!!

[mark1962fullyrecovered]

I would definitely try talking to someone. I fully beat my anorexia and i now help others to beat theirs. Unfortunately when i tried to post details of the service i offer, the mods on this site removed all trace of my contact details even though i am a qualified counsellor and social worker.

please try and talk to a specialist counsellor and not to a generic counsellor and in my somewhat considerable experience i would avoid CBT(cognitive behavoural therapy) In my personal, academic and professional experience i have found that CBT is not the most effective way of treating an ED. Hopefully the mods don't take down this comment as well. Sufferers of EDs need all the help they can get. In many parts of the UK specialist help(esp on the NHS)is virtually non existent.

Good luck. I hope you find what you are looking for and that they eventually find yourself again. Please get in touch if you feel I could help you

[dancing_94 in reply to mark1962fullyrecovered]

Hi mark,

Thanks so much for your response it's really encouraging to hear you made a full recovery and are now able to help others in similar situations.

In regards to treatment I do see a psychotherapist who specializes in EDs at great ormand street hospital I see him privately at present but my GP is looking at getting him for me on the NHS.

Sadly my ED escalated greatly during the months I have been in therapy prehaps this is because untill a couple of weeks ago I couldn't face talking openly with him I'm not really sure why when I was honest with my GP and parents!

I hope now he can offer me more effective treatment I am having a psychiatric assesment at the Tavistock clinic where a care plan will be set up as my parents attend parent sessions there.

Hoping recovery will be possible for me

[Hidden]

I would like to say that I agree with Mark. I was originally referred to my college counsellor aged 19 and the college nurse. I saw them for over a year, all this while deteriorating with self harm, anorexia and suicide attempts. It was only then when I tried to take my own life (I felt a total failure in my eyes because I had been seeing 'specialists' and hadn't got well) that I was referred to my local adult community mental health team. I was then assessed by a general psychiatrist then passed on to am adult clinical psychiatrist.. She wasn't a specialist eating disorder psychiatrist, in fact was so unhelpful that I and I continued to drop lower in weight. and mood. She saw me for months and months and mentally and physically I became so unwell I was close to death. Yet i kept going because this is what I thought was specialist help as did my poor desperate family.

It was only at that point, after being passed from pillar to post over 3 years that I was eventually referred on to the actual specialist eating disorder unit. If only I had been referred to them in the first instance! From that day my life was turned around and I with the units help, understanding and support I began to get well. Perhaps sadly and perhaps unfairly this has left me with a very bitter attitude towards counsellors.. I feel very passionately that when people with eating disorders come in to contact with school nurses or counsellors or GP's they need to be referred to an eating disorder unit because the quicker the illness is nipped in the bud the higher that chance of recovery. It took years to undo the damage caused by the counsellor etc. Personally I feel that although things like aromatherapy, massage and relaxation can aid anxiery they can not equip you with the psychological knowlege, dietary knowledge and mental tools you will need to overcome your ED. CBT can be very helful but only above a certain BMI otherwise it is impossible for very low weight people to have the concentration and abitlity to rationalise thought processes for it to work. WHen brains shrink due to starvation they need re-fed in order to function properly. Perhaps this is why CBT is unhelpful with some eating disorder patients - research has shown that very ill patients simply can not think clearly until body weight reaches a higher level. It was this way for me. My advice is therefore seek specialist help as soon as you can - your GP can refer you to a unit outside your county if it does not offer such services near where you live (I know you get terribly homesick - I used to as well! But is really wasn't so bad when I had to have residential treatment because there is often great comaraderie and friendship on units) and it will give you the best possible chance to get well. Sorry for going on and on in this post, I just really want you to get well and be happy and free of your ED as soon as poss. big hug and I wish you all the luck in the world. And do write again if ever you want to. x

[mark1962fullyrecovered]

There are some very unprofessional practices here in England regarding the treatment of eating disorders. I was treated in Sheffield. The city does have a private ED unit but the nearest NHS facility is 40 miles in Leeds. Sadly the Sheffield ED service and the then PCT(Now CCG) refuse to refer patients to the Sheffield unit and they send them all the way to Leeds. I was last an in-patient in Leeds in 2004 and astonishingly, the ED service are still refusing to refer patients to the Sheffield unit. I have see clients from towns around Sheffield and their PCT do send patients to the Sheffield unit. A recent audit showed that the weekly costs of treatment are slightly lower at the private unit rather than the NHS unit. Treatment outcomes are also more favourable at the private Sheffield unit. I have tried and tried to get answers to why Sheffield absolutely refuse to send patients to the Sheffield unit. I have never received any explanation. This is in spite of all the recent NHS reforms regarding private sector treatment in the NHS. At present the mentally ill are excluded from having any choice in where they are treated and by whom. But that is changing next year when the mentally ill will finally enjoy the same rights as "normal" patients. THey will then have a choice. I wonder what excuse the Sheffeild NHS Ed clinic will find when they refuse to give sufferers a choice. Sorry for the tirade, but I despise the abuse of power and I really don't like public bodies like the NHS playing god with people lives. They are required to answer to the people that fund them but they don't and probably never will. Tirade over

[florence_norman]

Hi there,

Well done for asking for support, it is very brave and I know how frightening it is to be where you are. I am now almost three years healthy and free from anorexia and bulimia and I promise there is a way.

I have set up a small social enterprise in London that provides support for women in recovery. Basically we meet three days a week and I teach beading and jewellery making. It is very therapeutic and gentle. No experience is necessary, the main idea is that we are together, learning new skills and gaining confidence and self esteem. Are you based in London? I currently have spaces and I'd love to give you more details if you are interested.

Please don't give up, you can get through this and there are so many of us here to support.

Florence