Rachel Egan
Senior Marketing Officer
Mind
Eating disorders are often misunderstood, and conversations about them can be filled with misconceptions. In this blog, Rachel Egan, a Senior Marketing Officer for Mind, shares her experiences of working with an eating disorder.
For more information, this guide from ENEI includes advice for employers to help them support an employee who might be experiencing an eating disorder.
I’ve had an eating disorder my entire working life. Sometimes it goes quiet and I can live my life and eat, exercise and socialise the way I want to; other times it is loud and drowns out everything else around me. But it’s always there.
Between 1.25 million-3.4 million people in the UK have an eating disorder, and most of them are adults. But we don’t talk about them at work. Unlike more common mental health problems, like stress and anxiety, eating disorders still remain firmly in the shadows.
Part of this is due to the misconception that one must be severely underweight to experience an eating disorder, or that they only affect teenage girls. In fact, eating disorders affect people of all ages, genders and body sizes, and are rising rapidly among men, people from racialised backgrounds and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
But how do you spot the signs and symptoms of an eating disorder in the workplace and what you can do to help a colleague who you think may be struggling?
Know the signs:
1. Let go of any misconceptions: First of all, let go of any misconceptions you have about eating disorders. You cannot tell that somebody has an eating disorder just by looking at them as very few people with an eating disorder become underweight. Eating disorders like bulimia, binge eating disorder and OSFED (Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders) are far more common that anorexia and just as dangerous and distressing.
2. Look out for warning signs: There isn’t a perfect checklist of symptoms for an eating disorder but things to watch out for include: anxiety and distress around food, not wanting to eat in front of others, an obsession with calorie counting or exercise, constant eating or claims of being ‘addicted to food’. You may notice that somebody is highly critical of their body or their eating habits. This could manifest as people not wanting to turn their video cameras on or wearing baggy clothes.
3. Be mindful of conversations around exercise: Over-exercise has been a big part of my eating disorder and one of the hardest parts to overcome. Consequently, long conversations about exercise, or how far somebody has run, or how many hours they worked out for can be really triggering for me. Be aware of who you might be speaking to.
4. Make adjustments: People with eating disorders may need time off for treatment or support in the workplace. Ask them what would be helpful. For me, reducing my hours when I had lots of nutritional deficiencies helped me cope with the fatigue I was experiencing and having time off to attend treatment allowed me to start the recovery process.
For me, work has always been a big motivator for staying out of hospital. Although it can be stressful, it helps with providing routine and social contact and keeps me focused on recovery. With the right support, people with eating disorders can thrive in the workplace.
Article first appeared: https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk/blog/ive-had-an-eating-disorder-my-entire-working-life-heres-how-you-can-help/