I would like to start by saying that I feel the eating disorder support in the UK needs drastic improvement. With the highest fatality rate of any mental illness, eating disorders are still often disregarded and shamed, and even though people with eating disorders may develop it in their young teen years, maybe even childhood, there are many adults who are left struggling with their disorder. There is no age to an eating disorder, but sadly there is for what support you can get. Eating disorders can rarely, but often, be lifelong mental health issues and restrain the quality of life a person can have. I myself have had a small portion of support during my younger teen years at my local doctors, which eventually stopped due to lack of funding, but I asked those around me when writing this petition about their experiences of support and how it changed as they became older. It became apparent that there is little for older teens and adults, and that eating disorders still are surrounded by a cloud of stigma. A kind young adult I spoke with, K, gave permission for me to share her story.

K was 14 when she first was referred to an ED team, she was turned away for being a normal weight after one appointment. Later when she was 17, she became depressed and anxious that she was going to be discharged if she didn’t lose and maintain the lowest weight possible to keep receiving help where she was. Her anorexia quickly became a reactive eating disorder and she gained weight from stress. She was immediately discharged despite attempting to take her life because of her sadness about her weight. Then, some time later she was informed that she would be put in a unit only for them to take that away from her, making her question whether she deserved help and making her doubt her illness (which is a common shared feeling of mental illnesses) Finally, she was informed that she was no longer ‘thin enough’ to keep receiving help she needed as she was becoming a young adult. This is one story of many, and even one experience like this is one too many. As you become older, you are more at risk of being rejected from help as you have many responsibilities to juggle as well as a disorder.

I am writing to the NHS, the gov and the general public to urge them to take eating disorders more seriously and offer more help to those who are suffering. Please sign this petition and share.