Publish date: 4 March 2022
West London NHS Trust marked Eating Disorders Awareness Week (Monday 28 February to Sunday 6 March) by highlighting its services and challenging common misconceptions.
An eating disorder is a mental health condition where you use the control of food to cope with feelings and other situations.
Anyone can get an eating disorder, but teenagers between 13 and 17 are mostly affected. The most common eating disorders are anorexia, bulimia and binge-eating disorder.
The Trust started the week by highlighting its CAMHS eating disorder service. Senior nurse Tracey Collins gave a great insight into the work the Trust is doing to support young people with eating disorders.
She said anyone can recover from an eating disorder, but described how social media and the government's policy on obesity had a negative effect on children.
She also stressed the importance of making sure young people receive the support they need prior to developing an eating disorder and schools can be key in promoting positive mental health and talking about body positivity. You can read the interview here.
Later in the week, Dr Samantha Scholtz, Director of Research and Development at West London NHS Trust, made a short video explaining how binge-eating has increased during the pandemic, whilst challenging assumptions wrongly made about obesity.
Dr Tracy Teng, a leading psychologist at West London Community Eating Disorder Service, highlighted how difficult it is for men to seek support for eating disorders and it's by no means a 'female condition'.
She also explained how some individuals question whether they deserve treatment because they're not underweight or they think their symptoms aren't severe enough.
Anyone can develop and recover from an eating disorder, but early intervention is key and anyone who is concerned they may be experiencing symptoms should seek support and treatment as soon as possible. You can read the interview here.
The Trust ended the week by sharing the trailer for a new film Nexus, which shows the impact of Covid-19 on young people's mental health, exploring eating-related coping strategies and support mechanisms. The film was made in partnership with Imperial College London and Inner Eye Productions and based on research examining young people’s mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic. You can read more about that here.
From concept and idea generation, to filming, editing, completing the film, and getting it ready to show, young people have been at the heart of this exciting and important project.
You can watch the trailer for the film here:
