Thank you for taking the time to visit my Just Giving page. I hope that you will consider helping me to raise money for Beat, the UK’s largest eating disorders charity.

26 February-4 March is Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2018. I have several good friends battling eating disorders at the moment so this is a particularly poignant issue for me this year, and I have therefore pledged to ‘do my bit’ to help raise awareness as well as donations.

All this week, I will be wearing my stripy blue-and-white Beat socks (pictured) to support the #SockItToEatingDisorders campaign to raise awareness of eating disorders and the importance of timely action.

It’s estimated that more than 1.25 million people have an eating disorder in  the UK alone. These include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, OSFED (other specified feeding or eating disorder), and more.

Eating disorders are not exclusive to white teenage/early adult females. They can affect people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, weights and body shapes.

Full recovery is possible, but it’s really important to be aware of the early signs and for intervention to be prompt. The average time  between symptoms first developing and the start of specialist treatment is currently estimated at 3.5 years.

Further information about eating disorders may be found on websites including the charities Beat (beateatingdisorders.org.uk) and Men Get Eating Disorders Too (mengetedstoo.co.uk), as well as NHS Choices (www.nhs.uk/conditions/eating-disorders).

Beat also maintains an Adult Helpline (0808 801 0677) and Youthline (0808 801 0711), open 365 days a year, 3pm-10pm, enabling callers to speak directly to trained, experienced support workers.

I’ve chosen a target of raising £250 in the next week. But every little helps! Just £3 could help fund resources to support someone visiting their GP about their eating disorder for the first time – a crucial initial step towards recovery.

Please consider sponsoring me to wear my stripy socks and thereby support the invaluable work undertaken by Beat; and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, please don’t forget to Gift Aid your donation.

Thank you very much in advance.

Chris (Guildford, Surrey)