When my daughter, aged 23, was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa I could find no help or support and it took me two years to begin to find information when I eventually discovered EDA by chance – now b-eat uk. 

Having at one time been trained as a Samaritan I decided to start a local support telephone helpline and later linked up with EDA, working on their national helpline for about 7 years. 

For the last few years I’ve worked on the local NEEDS Scotland (North East Eating Disorders Support Scotland) helpline.

Over all these years I’ve talked to hundreds – possibly thousands – of family members about their experiences when an eating disorder invades their family, as well as many professionals.  Through these conversations I’ve gained a much greater insight into the huge variation in these devastating illnesses – many similarities yet so many individual differences. 

Without these conversations over the years, which I’ve often quoted anonymously in  my writing and in presenting workshops in professional/family communication, I would only have my own personal experience when my daughter was so ill – thankfully Jay is now recovered.