A brand new ‘Lived Experience’ Guide for people struggling with disordered eating, has been published by East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT), prior to Eating Disorder Awareness Week – 26th February-3rd March 2024.

Throughout this guide, adults from East London share a snapshot of how they have navigated the process of seeking support from professionals and loved ones. By sharing their stories, ‘experts by experience’ seek to challenge the ‘eating disorder stereotypes’ which can so often stop us from feeling we deserve help.

The guide also reflects on the many different meanings of ‘recovery’, and the ways in which people can make this feel relevant and realistic to their own life. In doing so, we hope to empower all those who may feel they are not deserving of support or recovery to believe otherwise – because there is no such thing as ‘not being sick enough’ to deserve a life without the distress of disordered eating.

The booklet has been designed and co-produced by members of the East London Disordered Eating Expert by Experience (EbE) Group. The EbE group is based within the adult Community Eating Disorder Service at East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT), where members use their personal lived experience of disordered eating to contribute to the design and development of the service.

More information about Eating Disorders can be found on Young Healthwatch (YHW) Central Bedfordshire’s project page, where an information leaflet and booklet educating and advising young people, their peers and adults about how best to help young people affected by eating disorders, can be found. YHW’s project report can also be found here.