Nervous Nelly....

Today is Saturday 

Which means the tv show is being recorded the day after tomorrow

And boy am I a nervous nelly 

My heart flutters every time I think of speaking in front of so many people

I am afraid that these people

Family members 

And professionals

Are going to look to me for all the answers

And I'm not sure if I have them

Or even if I have any

I haven't really been prepped for this discussion on Monday

I mean

I had a conversation with Dyna the presenter/ producer

And she outlined what the discussion will centre around

I am worried that I will either babble on like a raving lunatic

Ot completely freeze

And won't be able to utter a word 

I know the other people involved in the discussion are the mother of an eleven year old girl that is suffering with an ED

A psychiatrist

And the director of an eating disorder clinic

I know I will be asked what advice I can give the mother of the young girl

And I've been thinking about it a lot

My disorder developed when I was about 19

So to all intents and purposes I was an adult

So I haven't experienced my ED as a child

Of course the age does not matter

But I do think it makes a difference that this girl is a minor

And her parents are responsible for her

So I'm sure they're doing everything in their power to help their daughter

But the reality is

That no one can make you eat

No matter how hard they try

Eleven years old is so young

And it's such a complicated illness

That I'm sure this poor child does not even understand what is happening to her

But she is not starving herself because she is a happy well adjusted child

Something is going on there

And somehow she has got the message that if she doesn't eat

This will somehow help her situation

I'm sure her and her parents are locked in a battle of wills

And it becomes a competition to see who can hold on the longest 

In this childs mind

Her parents have now become the enemy

And the disorder has become her friend 

In a child's world 

It's as simple as that

EDs change the most well mannered polite person in to a lying, cheating manipulative and difficult person

It's a lot like living with an addict

The addiction takes over

And to the addict

Nothing else matters

Only the drug 

Or the ED

So how do we go about helping someone with an ED?

How does a family navigate the choppy waters that are anorexia or bulimia 

First off

I think we need to recognise that the disorder fulfills a need in the person

The person is getting some sort of pay off

Whether it be control

Attention

The perfect figure

Relief of anxiety

Often the sufferer won't entertain recovery 

Until the negatives of the disorder begin to out weigh the benefits

The first port of call is usually your GP

He/ she is not an expert in EDs

And will refer the sufferer on to mental health services

Or what ever services are available in the community

I saw numerous counsellors and therapists over the years 

And found them of little help

But then I had no interest in getting well

It wasn't until I started seeing Mary a few years ago that I began to even entertain the idea of recovery

I've also been inpatient numerous times

And have come to the conclusion that it is not for me

I don't doubt that it works for some people

But definitely not me

I have always done much better recovering from home

That's probably because I am lucky enough to have a very strong family around me

Often in the grip of an ED

Our world shrinks to just us and the disorder

We push away family and friends 

We lose interest in school and hobbies

And become completely immersed in the ED

We read about it

Watch films about it

Watch documentaries about it

Maybe we speak to others on line about it

Nothing else matters

Nothing else captures our attention like our ED

I thinking the tricks of recovery

Is finding something that matters to you more than the ED

What ever that may be

A hobby

A job

A person

An interest

In my case it was my dogs 

They meant more to me than my ED ever could 

And have massively helped me in my recovery

Everyone has something that they love 

Be it horse riding

Reading

Writing 

Acting

Hula hooping 

It could be absolutely any thing

As long as it means something to you

I don't have all the answers 

All I can do is share what worked for me

And give some one rough guide lines

I'm not an expert

I have been through it

And am lucky to have made it out relatively unscathed 

I like to use the analogy of the wild animal when talking about recovery

I think recovery is like training a wild animal

You can train it 

And manage it 

But there is always the possibility that it will bite

As you can never fully tame it

I never consider myself out of the woods 

I know it's a life long battle

With many hurdles

All we can do is take it day by day

Meal by meal

Keep putting one foot in front of the other

And keep going

To have hope 

Faith 

And courage

And as I always like to say

Baby steps all thee way!