Q&A: Eating disorders

Good Thinking answers some of the questions about eating disorders that young people might have and provides links for further support.

Anyone can develop an eating disorder at any age and for many different reasons. For some young people, it’s a way of coping with stress, anxiety and other mental health concerns. For others, it’s because they are worried about the way they look.

If you have an unhealthy relationship with food that is starting to take over your life and is making you ill, it’s important that you get help as soon as you can. In this article, the Good Thinking team answers some of the questions you might have and directs you to support organisations, such as Beat.

If you’d like support to help boost your mental wellbeing in general, please visit our Young People section.

“Living with any eating disorder is difficult, exhausting and painful.” James

“... what I found the hardest was the constant lying – the guilt I felt every time I tried to conceal secretive behaviour from my family, my friends and myself.” Emma

Eating disorders can develop for various reasons. It might happen if you’re:

Feeling stressed (e.g. about exams or money)
Worried about how your body looks
Concerned about putting on weight
Being bullied, criticised or put under pressure
Experiencing low self-esteem
Going through hormonal changes
Training for a particular sport
Having difficulties with your family, friends or other relationships

You can find further information on the Beat website.

There isn’t an eating disorder checklist as everyone is different, but you might find that you’re:

Thinking about food all the time
Eating less or more than normal
Exercising a lot
Losing or putting on weight quickly
Checking the calorie or fat content of food
Making yourself sick
Taking laxatives
Feeling cold and tired
Weighing yourself often
Experiencing irregular periods

For further information, visit the Beat website.

There are various types of eating disorders, including:

Anorexia Nervosa (restricting how much food you eat)
Binge Eating Disorder (regularly eating large portions of food)
Bulimia (binging on food followed by vomiting, fasting and other ways of purging)
Orthorexia (having an unhealthy obsession with eating “clean”)
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED)
Diabulimia (when a person with diabetes purposefully restricts insulin to lose weight)

You can find more details on the Beat website.

It can be more difficult to recover from an eating disorder on your own so don’t be afraid to ask for help. We recommend that you do the following:

Tell someone you trust: Perhaps you could start by talking to a friend or a sibling? Explain to them what’s happening, how long it’s been going on and how it makes you feel. If you’d prefer to speak to a trained advisor, there are free and confidential helplines available, such as Beat’s Youthline (0808 801 0711) and YoungMinds Crisis Messenger (text YM to 85258).
Get support from others: Find a group – either online or face-to-face – where you can chat to people with eating disorders and others who have recovered from them. You don’t have to deal with this on your own. Beat’s support services include chat rooms (one-to-one or in a group) and message boards.
Talk to your GP: This might seem like a big step but your GP will help you to determine exactly what’s going on and can transfer you to a specialist eating disorder service for treatment. If you’re nervous about going on your own, take a friend or relative with you. If you, or someone else, is in crisis, call 999. For urgent, non-emergency medical advice, call NHS 111.

The Beat website contains detailed advice about recovery.

You can find information about diabulimia on the Diabetes UK website.

If you’re worried that a friend or a loved one might be developing an eating disorder, the warning signs include:

Avoiding eating with other people
Being secretive about food
Going to the bathroom a lot after eating
Exercising obsessively
Eating very slowly
Hiding their body in baggy clothes
Going on strict diets and/or taking diet pills

Spotting 6 early signs of an eating disorder

In this short video, Dr Louise Miller GP shares six early signs of an eating disorder, and advice on how to support young people who might be struggling with eating.

Visit the Beat website for more information about how to support someone.

The eating disorder charity Beat has some helpful tips to help you find the right words. They include the following reassuring phrases:

“I know it’s difficult, but I’m proud of you.”
“I might not understand, but if you need someone to talk to, I will help as much as I can.”
“How are you?”
“You’re worth more than your eating disorder.”
“I believe in you.”

If you're a parent or carer, read Good Thinking's advice about how to support a young person who has an eating disorder.