Never ever thin enough: The impact of eating disorders

More women are seeking treatment for eating disorders as mental health become less of a stigma. But many are in their 30s, 40s and 50s and their secret has had an enormous impact on their lives says Helen O’Callaghan

It wasn’t just one thing that finally drove Katie, 35, to seek help for her eating disorder. When her boyfriend said he couldn’t see a future together if she didn’t sort out her Jekyll and Hyde-type mood swings, it certainly propelled her towards therapy. So did reading a magazine article and answering yes, yes, yes to questions like ‘Do you use food for comfort?’ ‘Is food ruling your life?’ But even reaching rock bottom and attending therapy group sessions for bulimia didn’t convince Katie she had a problem. “I was detached from the others. I identified with what they were doing – it comforted me, knowing I wasn’t the only one doing these things – but I thought I’m not really one of these people.” In the UK, NHS figures show soaring numbers of young people being hospitalised for eating disorders. Approximately 650 under-19s in England were admitted in 2003-’04 – by 2013-’14, numbers had shot up 172%. More than 90% were girls and young women.

Here, the Department of Health estimates 200,000 people may be affected by eating disorders. Dr Sarah Prasad is consultant psychiatrist at St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, which sees very high referral rates to its adult eating disorder service. Figures are slightly up on last year, she reports. In 2014, 138 patients were admitted, 126 of them women. This year, by early September 2015, there have been 119 referrals. With the majority of cases aged 18-25, Dr Prasad is seeing increasingly severe symptoms. “Patients are significantly underweight. They’ve had their symptoms considerable lengths of time.” Bodywhys services manager Harriet Parsons says numbers contacting them have increased in the last 18 months. She attributes it to stigma-reducing campaigns around mental health. “There’s a growing trend towards reaching out for help and talking about mental health issues generally. People recognise what they’re doing is a sign something else is going on for them.”