There has been a surge in referrals for eating disorders to North London-based mental health services among adults between 2019 and 2021.
Urgent referrals for eating disorder treatments almost doubled between 2019 and 2021, according to Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust.
There were 77 urgent cases in 2018/19, which rose to 150 in 2020/21.
Non-urgent cases also spiked, increasing from 982 in 2018/19 to 1273 in 2020/21
That’s an increase of 51% in urgent cases, and 30% in non-urgent cases.
Raising awareness
Eating Disorder Awareness Week runs from 28 February to 6 March, and this year campaigners are talking about the impact the pandemic has had on people’s body image and psychological wellbeing.
Sravya Attaluri, 27, is a mental health activist who has experienced disordered eating.
Now a champion for body positivity and intuitive eating, Sravya is using social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok to campaign for increased visibility and awareness of eating disorders.
View this post on Instagram
Sravya believes her own eating disorder developed through the promotion of fitness and diet-related content on social media.
“I started to get more desperate and tried more and more dangerous methods to lose weight. Every time this type of content would pop up on my feed, I would end up spiralling.”
A bad sign? Or more people getting help?
For Sravya, the increase in referrals could indicate that more people are being encouraged to seek support for their mental health.
“I’m happy to hear that referrals went up, and that people were actually able to reach out and get help.
“I think that’s progress because when I was younger I remember that people didn’t really talk about it. Eating disorders were definitely romanticised.”
It's #EDAW so I wanted to share how important it is to seek help & the fact that sometimes finding the right resource isn't instant. Since I just moved, I am currently searching in my new neighbourhood & hoping to find the right support soon @beatED #PRRequest #JournoRequest pic.twitter.com/ZSLCUESgFI
— Sravya Attaluri (@sravya_attaluri) February 28, 2022
Helping sufferers and their families
“I think training programmes for families, friends and communities can really help give people the tools they need to support someone who has some form of eating disorder, or how to cope with it themselves,” says Sravya.
“It’s also important to educate others. If you’re trained, you know what it is. You can be more mindful. It definitely goes deeper than just ‘awareness'”.
If you or someone you know are struggling with an eating disorder – or behaviours you think might indicate an eating disorder – get in touch with your GP or contact Beat on 0808 801 0677.
