Eating Disorders and Lockdown

Eating disorders are a complex mental illness that can affect any age, gender, ethnicity and background¹. There are different types of eating disorders including anorexia, avoidance/restrictive food intake disorder (AFRID), binge eating disorder, bulimia and other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED).  People with eating disorders cope with stress, anxiety and other difficult feelings through disordered eating behaviours. The incidence of Bulimia nervosa is 12 cases per 100 and the incidence of Anorexia nervosa is 8 cases per 100,000 population per year³. Despite the incidence of anorexia being lower, the highest mortality rates occur in those with Anorexia⁴. Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 with anorexia have 10 times the risk of dying compared to their same-aged peers⁵. Binge eating will affect one in fifty of us and it is also found that one in 6 of those ever affected by binge eating disorder will attempt suicide¹. This type of eating disorder is the most common yet least understood therefore BEAT are focusing on Binge eating disorder in this year’s eating disorder awareness.

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Coronavirus has understandably increased stress levels, uncertainty and anxiety and has been a challenge for the majority of us. However, lockdown has presented a number of triggers and particularly amplified the risk of individuals with or recovering from eating disorders⁶. Increased anxiety, loneliness due to reduced social interaction teamed with the impact of stress of continually changing government guidelines and restrictions have impacted mental health and in turn have exacerbated eating disorder symptoms⁶ as lockdown has had a catalytic negative effect on some people’s eating habits, exercise behaviours and body image⁹.

Disruption to daily routines, decreased physical activity rates, reduced access to support networks and healthcare, increased exposure to triggering social media posts and fear of contamination of COVID-19 are a fraction of the overwhelming factors that have contributed to the rise in eating disorders during lockdown⁸. The leading eating disorder charity, BEAT, reported an 80% increase in people contacting them via social media, and a 35% spike in calls across the UK¹.

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Did you know that…

· Approximately 1.25 million people in the UK have an eating disorder. Around 25% of those affected by an eating disorder are male⁸

· Men are less likely to reach out about eating disorders compared to women⁹

· At any given point in time between 0.3-0.4% of young women and 0.1% of young men will suffer from anorexia nervosa⁵

· By age 6, girls especially start to express concerns about their own weight or shape. 40-60% of elementary school girls (ages 6-12) are concerned about their weight or about becoming too fat⁵

· Research suggests that around 46% of anorexia patients fully recover, a 33% improving and 20% remaining chronically ill. Similar research into bulimia suggests that 45% make a full recovery, 27% improve considerably and 23% suffer chronically⁵

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Body Image is one’s own interpretation of their body as pictured in the mind. It encompasses individual attitudes and feelings about body appearance and its functionality¹⁰.  The increased time at home during lockdown, certainly, changed our behaviour affecting mental health and impacting a healthy body image¹². Social-distancing and lockdown lead to an increased usage of screen-time that has potentially given rise to a greater concern about body shape¹². A report carried out in the UK after the first lockdown through various social media platforms, found the emotional state related to body image of people was impacted. 

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The results established:  

· A large number of people reported feeling negative about their body image and more than half the respondents felt lockdown had made them more anxious about their own body image¹¹

· Social Media was accounted to have the largest influence on body image ¹¹

· The majority of people reported feeling negativity towards their body image due to an increased activity on social media with exposure to photo-edited images and diet culture¹¹

· Restrictions to gyms and sport-related activities imposed by lockdown elevated concerns about peoples’ appearances imploding negative body image perceptions¹¹

· Men also felt the pressures of social media10, with a greater emphasis on masculine body ideals to increase muscle mass emerging in advertisements and social media¹¹

 

The results of the report highlight the stress and anxiety linked to life events such as lockdown may weaken an individual’s coping mechanisms in dealing with social pressures to body ideals10. To reduce the effects of social media, you might like to consider unfollowing accounts that you feel are unhelpful for your mental health or trigger negative thoughts towards yourself. If you do not feel ready to unfollow accounts just yet, you can mute them and revisit when you feel more comfortable to.

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Hala El-Shafie discusses what advice and support is available for everyone:

The pandemic has been an extremely difficult time as most of us have been directly or indirectly impacted by COVID-19. However, this does not mean that eating disorder struggles are less deserving of support! Anyone with an eating disorder deserves to be heard, understood and offered help!

There are a number of eating disorders and the management of each one is dependent not only on the condition but also on the individual and where they are. There is not a one size fits all approach and my advice would be to seek out to seek out professional help - go to your GP and ask to be referred to specialist eating disorders services or join a support group.

Here are some eating disorder specialists that are experienced in this area:

o   Hala El-Shafie, Founder of Nutrition Rocks @nutrition_rocks

o   Beth Francois @theeddietician

o   Sarah Elder @saraheldernutrition

o   Talia Cecchele @tcnutrition

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Tips for online appointments at home

·Ensure you have privacy so you can speak in confidence and know you won’t be disturbed

· If you live with people, ask them to ensure you won’t be disturbed during your session

· Journal your emotions after your session this may help you process certain difficult emotions during your session

· Try and ensure you don’t have any work or school commitments straight after a session so that you have some time to process your session and reflect

Tips for expressing feelings

- Write it down, journaling is incredibly helpful!

Speak to someone and if that feels too difficult, write an email/letter or send a message to someone you trust to get some support

- Contact a support line/help line such as BEAT or make an appointment to see your GP

- Write down your thought and feelings on a piece of paper so you don’t feel overwhelmed during your appointment

 

How to maintain a safe space on social media during lockdown?

What we take in isn’t just related to what we are eating it is also what we are watching reading and who we are spending time with, the impact of this can have either a positive or negative impact on our life and wellbeing and that included social media. For more guidance regarding social media, check out our article about social media and body image here.

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Resources:

You are never alone with your eating disorder! Where to go for help:

● Speak to your GP

● Registered dietitian or nutritionist

● Hala El-Shafie, Specialist Eating Disorders Dietitian

The Harley Nutrition Clinic info@theharleynutritionclinc.co.uk

● Rhitrition

● Nutrition Rocks - We have opened up our waiting list for our online body image and support group workshops.

If this is something you a family member or friend maybe interested in please email info@theharleynutritionclinic.co.uk to reserve your spot!

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Mental Health Services:

● Speak to your GP

● BEAT: Beat have an extensive range of helplines, support groups and chat lines that are specific to your needs!

-        Helplines: 0808 801 0677

-        Studentline: 0808 801 0811

-        Youthline: 0808801 0711

Helplines are open 365 days a year from 9am-8pm during the week, ad 4pm-8pm on weekends and bank holidays

- Chat rooms:

Swan (Anorexia support): Monday 6:45pm. The Swan online support group helps those suffering with anorexia.

Kingfisher (Bulimia Support) : Wednesday & Saturday 6:45pm. The Kingfisher group offers support for people suffering with bulimia.

The Aviary (Carers): Sunday 6:45pm. The Aviary is for carers or anyone supporting someone through recovery.

- Support groups: The Sanctuary is an online chat group that is a safe space created specifically in response to coronavirus and the anxieties this could lead to for people with an eating disorder¹.

● MIND

● Anxiety UK

● NHS

● Check out some of our articles with useful resources here.

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