Breaking Down Barriers

Join Beat’s Eating Disorders Awareness Week campaign to show eating disorders do not discriminate, and that everyone who gets one deserves fast, high-quality treatment.

Stereotypes would have you believe that eating disorders are not serious illnesses and they always take the same form, that only white middle-class women and girls suffer. These stereotypes are dangerous, they discourage people from seeking help, make it less likely for employers and, in some cases, healthcare professionals to take them seriously and also it makes them harder to be spotted by the sufferer or a loved one.

By their nature, eating disorders are secretive and stigmatised. We know how hard it can be to ask for treatment and it is even harder if a person doesn’t meet the expectations of what a person with an eating disorder ‘should’ look like. This is wrong. It has to change.

Together, we need to break down barriers, help people to understand that they are deserving of help and support no matter their eating disorder diagnosis, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age or background.

This Eating Disorders Awareness Week help us put stories of how eating disorders affect people from all walks of life in the spotlight and stand together to demand the support that those affected need and deserve.