Beat is the UK’s leading charity helping those affected by eating disorders through its services and campaigns. The charity is committed to helping people with eating disorders such as bulimia, anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, and other feeding or eating disorder. It does this by providing services and information for them. The charity spreads awareness by providing information to the public about these conditions.
Beat’s History
The charity began in 1989 when two existing charities, Anorexic Aid and Anorexic Family Aid, merged. After that, in 1992, The Eating Disorders Association had the Society for the Advancement of Research into Anorexia merge with them. The Eating Disorders Association changed its working title to Beat in 2007 and then formally adopted it after 11 years in 2018.
Beats Vision
Beat shares the vision of an end to the suffering caused by eating disorders. It is inspired by the people it serves, the difference it can make, and their commitment to each other.
To make its vision a reality, it needs to be bold. It takes particular courage for Beat’s beneficiaries to ask them for help. So they need to be courageous in return by proactively pursuing new opportunities, embracing new ways of working, and fighting against things preventing their vision from becoming a reality.
What are eating disorders?
An eating disorder is a mental health condition where you cope with feelings and other situations using the control of food. Those with eating disorders often have an unhealthy relationship with food. They may be overeating or undereating or using food as a coping mechanism or a way to feel in control. They may also become fixated on their weight or shape and change their eating patterns or how much they eat to reach an unhealthy goal.
Eating disorders can affect anyone regardless of age, ethnicity, sexuality or gender. However, eating disorders more commonly begin in adolescence but can occur at any time. Some people wrongly believe eating disorders are a lifestyle choice or phase. Still, they are not and can be very dangerous if not treated.
The three most common eating disorders are:
- Anorexia nervosa – trying to maintain your weight as low as possible by, for example, undereating or exercising excessively. You also may have a distorted view of your bodies weight or appearance, thinking you’re heavier or rounder/larger than you are
- Binge eating disorder (BED) – where you eat a lot of food regularly in a short period of time. You also will not feel in control of your eating behaviour.
- Bulimia – losing control of the amount of food you eat and then taking drastic action to lose weight. These actions are coupled with an excessive concern with body shape and weight.
Suppose your symptoms don’t exactly fit the symptoms for any of these three eating disorders. In that case, you may be diagnosed with an ‘other specified feeding or eating disorder’ (OSFED). OSFED is the most common eating disorder and is not any less serious. It is just that your disorder doesn’t fit into current diagnoses. Also, if you get a diagnosis of OSFED, it can help you access the treatment and support that you need.
Signs you may have an eating disorder?
Suppose you or the people around you are worried you have an unhealthy relationship with food. In that case, you or they could have an eating disorder. Eating disorders’ common symptoms include:
- uncontrollable undereating, or overeating in a short period
- having strict habits, rituals, or routines around food
- stressing for a long time about your body shape and weight
- changes in mood such as being anxious, withdrawn or depressed
- making yourself sick or taking laxatives after eating
- avoiding socialising when it may involve food
- withdrawing from hobbies you had enjoyed in the past, from family life or social groups
- Physical signs include your weight being very high or very low for someone of your age and height, feeling cold, tired or dizzy, and digestive problems.
What are the ways to treat eating disorders, and how do you get them?
There are many ways to treat an eating disorder. The most suitable for you will depend on the type of eating disorder, how severe it is, and your circumstances and preferences. Depending on these detail can affect whether you need to seek help from someone or you can help yourself.
Talking therapy is a way some people use to treat their eating disorder. Talking therapy involves regularly working through your thoughts, feelings and behaviours with a therapist or other mental health professional in sessions over some time. There are different kinds of talking therapy that can treat and manage eating disorders. These include Family therapy, psychotherapy or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
During therapy sessions, you can agree on an eating plan to ensure you get the appropriate vitamins and minerals from your diet. For those who have been underweight for a prolonged time, this can lead to low bone strength, so you should contact your GP so they can conduct an X-ray to check your bone health.
There are also guided self-help programmes for people with bulimia or binge eating disorders.
How does Beat Help those with eating disorders?
People with eating disorders have to not only deal with the disorder itself but also the people around them who can be ignorant about or prejudiced towards eating disorders. Beat tries to fix this by promoting awareness about eating disorders and providing information and guides to help those who have or know someone who has an eating disorder.
In addition to this, they give those who have recovered from an eating disorder an opportunity in taking an active part in Beat’s work through their Ambassador scheme. These ‘Ambassadors’ represent Beat in the media or at conferences and events, speaking about what they had experienced to help reduce the stigma and educate others.
Beat campaigns actively for better services and understanding of eating disorders. Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW) takes place annually.
What services does Beat provide?
Beat provides Helplines for people regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, etc. Their helplines offer support and information about eating disorders in a nonjudgemental and confidential space for you, no matter where you are in your journey. Calling this Helpline is free on all phones.
Beat also runs many online support groups for those with eating disorders. Using these groups does not require you to have a formal diagnosis of an eating disorder.
Beat’s Helplines are open 365days a year from 9 am to midnight on weekdays and four pm-midnight on weekends and bank holidays.
As their lines could be busy, If you can’t get through immediately, they recommend you to try again or try their one-to-one webchat.
However, If you need urgent help for yourself or someone else outside of their Helpline open hours, they recommend you contact 999.
Beat also provides a HelpFinder for those seeking help with their eating disorder from local organisations. While Beat does try to keep HelpFinder as up to date as possible, there could be some local services that are not listed.
Beats confidentiality
Beat’s services are confidential. However, there are certain circumstances where they may pass on information, for example:
- They believe a child may potentially be harmed.
- You/the caller is at serious risk of harm, either from themselves or others.
- You/the caller threatens or abuses their staff.
To ensure the quality and consistency of their services, Beats helpline managers monitor calls and emails from time to time.