Mental Health and Me

Eating Disorders are among the most fatal and devastating mental illnesses a person could be unlucky enough to ever develop. A devastating illness with countless mental and physical consequences. Eating disorders, of any form, are Hell on Earth – not just for sufferers, but the loved ones of anyone suffering with them. With UK eating disorder charity “Beat” estimating that around 1.6 million people in the UK are sufferers of some form of eating disorder, and figures believed to be much higher (as so many people live undiagnosed) I find myself upset and frustrated that I only learned more than what the media portrayed about eating disorders after developing an eating disorder myself. Of a range of people I spoke to on an eating disorder ‘support site’, that has been a great help for me through my bouts of relapse and recovery, our only real similarity was that we were all sufferers of some sort of eating disorder. Whether the disorder was AN (Anorexia Nervosa), Atyp...

When you think of feeding and eating disorders, what do you think of? Maybe if you are struggling with an eating disorder or are a loved one of someone that is, you'll be reminded of that eating disorder, and the suffering it causes.  But for people without an eating disorder and without much experience or knowledge on eating disorders, it's quite likely that the only eating disorders they've ever really heard of are anorexia and bulimia. It's completely understandable, because those are the only eating disorders that are really talked about openly, and although they are both very serious eating disorders, people with OSFED are suffering- and tragically, dying-before their illness gets recognition.  Some facts about OSFED OSFED stands for Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (previously called EDNOS, meaning Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified) OSFED is the most commonly diagnosed eating disorder in adults and adolescents Around 30% of people with a...