5 years ago my wonderful sister Fien was diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa. Her journey since then has been incredibly scary and challenging at times, with her spending weeks in A&E and many months in various inpatient units. The illness took so much from her and my family but unfortunately it's a highly misunderstood and misrepresented illness so a lot of people can feel a bit lost when having to support someone with an eating disorder or someone who has someone in the family with an eating disorder. 

Lockdown has been a difficult time for many people with an eating disorder and Beat have seen an 82% increase in contact with their support services. So I wanted to run a half marathon, firstly, to raise money for this incredible charity and, secondly, to use the opportunity to help people understand more about the illness and how to support people struggling with it. 

So for each mile of the half-marathon my sister and I have written some tips! 

How to support a friend struggling with an eating disorder (by Fien): 

1. Let them know you are there for them no matter what. 

2. Remember that the illness doesn’t define them (recognise their needs but don’t treat them differently whenever possible or use the eating disorder as an excuse to treat them in a certain way).

3. Don’t comment on their appearance or weight, even if you mean it as a compliment.

4. Do not discuss diet, diet trends, the latest health craze or what you have eaten/not eaten on that day.

5. Try to include them in social activities whilst respecting their boundaries (for example: understand if they don’t feel comfortable with certain activities/situations, don’t comment if they choose to bring their own food with them and always invite them to gatherings and activities rather than just assuming they don’t want to come).

6. Remember that it isn’t a ‘phase’, a diet, a trend or just a difficult relationship with food. The eating disorder is usually a manifestation of underlying struggles.

7. Make sure you seek the help/support you may personally need to understand how to support someone with an eating disorder and to address the struggles you may personally be experiencing as a result.

How to support someone who a has a sibling/close friend/parent with an eating disorder (by Marte and Bente): 

8. Avoid discussions about weight loss and dieting as this can be upsetting and trigger bad memories.

9. Ask how they are doing as well as the person with the eating disorder. 

10. Educate yourself. Go to the Beat website and find out more about the impact that having an eating disorder has on daily life (it's about so much more than just wanting to lose weight!) 

11. Don't be afraid to sometimes ask more difficult questions about life at home. Although we might not always want to talk about it, having the opportunity to open up really helps. 

12. Just be there for them and listen or help distract them from the situation if they need it.  

13. Ask how lockdown has been for them. If you've lost touch with a friend, check in on them to see if they've been having a particularly tough time at home. 

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.