The Sad Reality Of Eating Disorders In A COVID-19 World
trigger warning: eating disorders
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It’s Eating Disorder Awareness Week (March 1–7), and today we’re focusing on how eating disorders have been able to intensify during the pandemic.
As we welcome March, we’re all faced with the elephant in the room: the fact that a year has passed since our world was turned upside down by the Coronavirus. The past 12 months have not been easy for most, with everyone struggling in their own way.
Unprecedented amounts of people in the UK have found themselves grappling with mental health issues as a result of the events of the pandemic – even those who have never before struggled with any form of mental illness. Amidst this lies the terrifying reality of the pandemic’s prevalence of eating disorders; affecting both those with a history of eating disorders, and those who have never even been close to experiencing one before. The numbers of people dealing with these issues have sharply increased, spurred by the isolation of lockdown, which has allowed them to thrive dangerously.
Last month, data was released that showed the massive rises in waiting times for children and young people dealing with eating disorders, with a staggering 86% increase in those completing urgent treatment. Whilst there’s no directly comparable data for adults available, it’s widely understood that cases of adult eating disorders have also sharply peaked.
Talking to The Guardian, Dr Lorna Richards, a psychiatrist who specialises in adult eating disorders at the Priory Group, attributed the spike to a number of factors, included “fear and uncertainty, fuelling anxiety,” as well as the drastic changes to people’s home lives and general routines.
She also highlighted the broadly-adopted fear and obsession surrounding weight gain during lockdown, and said: “There has also been widespread concern [among the general population] about lack of physical activity, and about weight gain during periods of lockdown, which has seen the nation both dieting and exercising, en masse. Eating disorders have thrived in this environment, as the focus on eating and weight control becomes a way of coping.”
As these types of concern rippled throughout communities, it has led people to become hyper-focused on all things food, adopting dangerous behaviours such as restriction, purging, bingeing, and overcompensation (such as overexercising), ultimately providing a coping mechanism that brings them back “a sense of control or mastery.”
The Priory Group have recorded a 61% increase in anorexia cases at their private clinics, as well as a 26% increase in those suffering with Binge Eating Disorder (BED). Eating disorders come with shame and secrecy, meaning only a fraction of those living with one actually take the steps necessary to receive treatment. For those suffering with BED, further shame is added – thanks to the dangerous narratives surrounding fatness and weight gain – so people are even less likely to seek treatment out of an added fear of judgment.
Eating disorder services have been overwhelmed throughout the pandemic, with charities such as Beat and SEED being overwhelmed by soaring demand for their helpline services and desperately needing extra funding and donations.
The pandemic won’t last forever, but many of its effects will undoubtedly linger long after it’s over. Eating disorder recovery is one of the most difficult battles a person will face, and support is needed now more than ever.
If you’d like to help any number of the charities working hard to help those suffering, you can head to our Resources page and check out our list of charities who would welcome your support. Alternatively, if you are currently dealing with an eating disorder and are in need of some help, our Resources can point you in the right direction – you are not alone.
Image credit: Priscilla Du Preez
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