Hannah received treatment through FREED in London. She shares her experiences of the initial assessment session at her eating disorder service.
Following a referral from my GP and some blood tests, I had an initial session in one of the therapy rooms at the hospital with a clinical psychologist. This duration of the session was around an hour long, and after giving some context on the problem which I was facing, I was asked to give the particulars of this problem; i.e. my diet on an average day, my binging habits, my relationship with exercise, alcohol, drugs, and the history of this problem. We then delved into the mental and emotional issues surrounding my problem, i.e. how I perceived my body and the impact of this problem on my social life, family life, career etc. We also considered its potential causes in alignment to significant events taking place in my life.
"I also found Amy's explanation of the physiological reason behind binging extremely helpful, as well as her explanation of the body's need for calories to operate, e.g. the brain needing around 500 calories a day to function."
This was followed with a suggested provisional course of action which consisted of an online course to try and tackle the disorder this way. This was decided as the best fit given that I work full-time and so would not be able to commit to routine face-to-face sessions, and also because I stated that group therapy sessions didn't feel like they would be helpful for me.
Although shocking, I found my diagnosis as a sufferer of Bulimia Nervosa extremely helpful. This is because although I knew of the condition, I never knew that you could suffer from it even if you were just binging and then attempting to undo the binge through severe calorie restriction and in my case, exercise. I also found Amy's explanation of the physiological reason behind binging extremely helpful, as well as her explanation of the body's need for calories to operate, e.g. the brain needing around 500 calories a day to function. Something about this information has really helped me, to the point where I have intentionally eaten more calories on a daily basis ever since, having had this explained to me. Aside from this, Amy helped reflect back to me some of the aspects of my own personal self which I already knew, but which hearing from an unbiased, objective source was incredibly enlightening. For example, she told me she felt that I come across as someone who sets really high targets for myself, and that control is something I need to feel I have in daily life. Having this all said to me has helped me see where some of the causes of my problem lie, and in doing so, I have made progress in trying to tackle these at source.
Sarah is the mother of Issy, a young person who received treatment through FREED. Sarah shares her experiences of living with and supporting Issy as she accessed treatment.
Sarah is the mother of Issy, a young person who received treatment through FREED. Sarah shares her experiences of living with and supporting Issy as she accessed treatment.
