Beat eating disorders and do it now.

Hello, my name is Rachael and I want to thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I am writing this blog to support the life-changing charity Beat. Beat helps some of the 1.6 million people in the UK that are affected by a type of eating disorder. These include Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia and Binge eating disorders.

Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia and Binge eating disorders are some of the most well-known and common mental illnesses in the world. Our world is obsessed with size and image- this is the cause of many eating disorders. Other causes are Boy/Girl troubles, bullying, wanting to be someone from magazines/newspapers and many other personal reasons.

Here are the symptoms of three eating disorders mentions directly from the Beat website.

Anorexia is an emotional disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat.

Bulimia is an emotional disorder in which bouts of extreme overeating are followed by depression and self-induced vomiting, purging, or fasting.

Binge eating disorders otherwise known as compulsive overeating, is characterized by an obsessive/compulsive relationship to food.

Here is Emma’s story:
Weighing no more than a girl of four when she was aged 18, Emma O’Neil was told she had the worst case of anorexia doctors had seen. At under 3st, her bones felt “like razor blades” if she lay on a bed. But after she was nearly run over because she was too weak to cross the road, she began the long journey back to full health. Now, after an eight-year battle, Emma, 22, says: “I didn’t realise how ill I was – I didn’t realise what I was doing to myself and my family. Some of my friends I was in hospital with, who weren’t as ill as I was have died. I’m so lucky to be here.” Emma developed the eating disorder aged 13 and within six months had plummeted to barely 5st. By 18, she was a skeletal 2st 12lb – what doctors might expect a girl of four to weigh. She recalls: “I was so thin I couldn’t even sleep on a normal hospital bed. My bones were like razor blades jutting out and I was left bruised. “It certainly wasn’t a vanity thing, because I was a very sporty teenager and wasn’t chubby at all. I have a very addictive personality and I remember trying to see how thin I could get, and I started being sick after I ate.” Even after she was taken to hospital, she refused to eat – pulling out drips. The turning point came while shopping with her dad in home city Glasgow. Emma explains: “We went to cross the road and saw all these cars rushing towards me. I tried to run but I just collapsed – I didn’t have enough muscle. It was only then I thought, ‘Maybe I’m not so well’.” Emma’s recovery was not easy as she battled her own body-image and she said: “Anorexia was like a prison I couldn’t escape from.”  With the help and support from Beat Emma made a full recovery because Beat kept fighting for her.

What does Beat do to help?
Beat provides a 24hr helpline to anyone who is worried about eating disorders or their weight.

It also runs a monitored chat room for people concerned with eating disorders; they can talk to other people in similar situations as them or talk to one of Beats ambassadors. These are inspirational people who, with the loving support from Beat, have overcome their eating disorder.

Also, on request, Beat provides specialist one to one counselling to massively benefit the lives of the people affected by eating disorders.

But Beat needs donations to train the expert advice workers and to keep their webpage operational. Below are some of the costs to keep Beat running.

• £2 enables Beat to provide online support to a young person struggling with an eating disorder
• £5 enables Beat to answer a question on the helpline message boards
• £10 enables Beat to give a sufferer the opportunity to talk to a support worker
• £25 enables Beat to run our helpline for half an hour and change the lives of people affected by an eating disorder
• £50 enables 10 parents and carers to support one another in one of our Beat Carers' Forums
• £100 enables Beat to train a Young Ambassador to talk about and raise awareness of eating disorders in the national media

What can you do to help?
You can...

• Fundraise
• Donate
• Become a member
• Volunteer
• Take part in campaigning
• Sign up for the monthly newsletter – UP Beat

This is all possible at www.beat.co.uk – I would thank you massively if you went to have a look.

Thank you again for reading my blog. Please take a fraction of time to answer the questions below. Your help towards my GCSE will be greatly appreciated.

1. Was my Blog informative? And if so, what was the best part and what did I do well? What could I Improve?
2. Had you heard of Eating disorders before? If so, was the definition in my blog match with what you thought eating disorders were?
3. Had you heard of Beat before? And if so how?
4. Would you now consider helping Beat? And if so, out of the options above, what would you do to help?
5. Lastly please leave a general comment and maybe a question regarding Beat.

PLEASE tell me where you come from…

I couldn’t thank you enough for reading my blog.
Rachael