Eating disorder support services braced for busy Christmas period
Anorexia and Bulimia care say they face a huge spike in demand from people struggling at this time of year
People across Greater Manchester are being urged to help support people struggling with eating disorders this festive season.
Charities say they are expecting a huge rise in those who've got things like anorexia and bulimia coming forward for help this Christmas.
Support services are asking parents and family members to be patient with people who are battling eating disorders.
The charity Anorexia and Bulimia Care have the following tips for family members:
The person who you are supporting will be very fearful of the food on Christmas day so try not to make the meal and the food the main focus.
Involve them in the planning of the Christmas day menu ; this is not a day to challenge their food choices so let them choose something that you know they will be able to eat that will not make them too anxious at the same time it needs to be suitably nourishing, by that maybe they would prefer fish to meat boiled potatoes to roast potatoes etc,
Also try to set a time for the meal to happen, in fact for all of the meals throughout the day if that is possible as delaying mealtimes would only lead to increased stress and anxiety.
Once the meal is eaten, tidy away as quickly as is possible and devote the rest of the day to things that can be enjoyed by everyone, such as playing board games, having a walk together, playing music, watching a film.
Jane Smith, from the charity, said:
"Carers and people providing the food can make it a lot easier, by not staring at them, not plating up the food for them then not staring to make sure they eat everything. It's important to have distractions and make the whole place calm, when I know carers nerves are really on edge.
"If you do accept a chocolate or something, it's not going to put on a stone. This is the trouble with eating disorder thinking, you don't need to beat yourself up if you've eaten more than maybe you wanted to.
"My husband and I were up until all hours on Christmas Eve trying to work out the calorie count in every stuffing ball, it worked but sobbing over calculating the calories is something I'll always remember."