
Name: Ciara
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed for my blog. The goal is to raise awareness about what eating disorders are and what sufferers go through.
Q: Can you please tell me a little bit about yourself, and about the eating disorder you have?
A: My name is Ciara. I developed my ED from the age of 10 and struggled for 22 years. I first had anorexia that went into anorexia/bulimia subtype. For all this time it has nearly taken my life many times. I am not better, but in best place I ever was and in active recovery.
Q: When did you realise you had issues with eating, and what did you do to seek help?
A: I remember at 12 or 13 that I had an issue. I was very much in denial and thought everyone threw their lunches away in school, and go on silly diets. I was a girl. I remember seeing a child’s consultant and she made issue with my weight, weighing me and telling the nurse that I couldn’t be that weight, and to weigh me again. I felt such shame and embarrassment but that was weight. He continued to use that appointment to tell 12 year old me that I will always have to watch my weight. The second time I went to my GP at 16 but was told it was just a phase, and I was okay, and given Bodywhys leaflet. It destroyed me.
Q: Did you encounter any difficulties when seeking treatment?
A: Yes, my GP didn’t know of any help because at this stage my weight was okay. My parents and I were totally left to learn about ED on the Internet and type in google help in my county for ED. My parents felt out of their depth and I felt dismissed, which triggered my ED to get worse.
Q: What changes would you like to see in eating disorder services?
A: I think better training for GPs; they are the first port of call. We need better direct access to care and early intervention. I think education is key for preventing. Services need to be connected and have multidisciplinary teams. More public beds are needed for inpatient services and better outpatient needs and better aftercare when discharged. Weight and where you live to access the right services.
Q: What is one thing you would like people to know about eating disorders?
A: That it’s so much more than food and weight, and EDs are not a choice. They are a life threatening illness and there is a person behind the ED.
Q: What piece of advice would you give to someone who is struggling with an eating disorder?
A: That recovery is possible, and it will be so worth it, but it will need you to want to get better and just you deserve to be well.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?
A: I would like to add that I feel if I got the right access to treatment early, I really believe I wouldn’t be struggling still 22 years later. Early access would have prevented a lot of very serious complications I now have.
I also feel a young girl being put in an acute psychiatric hospital where I was treated like a prisoner, it was all reward and punishment. This should never be how to treat anyone. I actually have PTSD from my time in treatment. This is where I should have been getting better.
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