During this year’s Eating Disorder Awareness Week, AMH EveryBODY looks at how these disorders can affect anyone – as they have no look, shape or size  . . .

Between 1.25 and 3.4 million people in the UK are living with an eating disorder right now, with recent NHS research highlighting that 6.4% of adults display signs of an eating disorder.  Approximately 25% of those presenting with an eating disorder in the UK are males (priorygroup.com, 2023).

Eating disorders are serious and complex mental disorders influenced by a facet of factors, involving disordered eating behaviour, such as reduced food intake or overeating then purging through exercise, laxatives or through the use of an emetic, or a combination of these behaviours. (beateatingdisorders.com).

Importantly eating disorders are not all about food itself, but about feelings. How a person interacts with food may make them feel more able to cope, or more in control.

Though the exact cause of eating disorders is unknown, it is generally believed that a combination of biological, psychological and social factors contribute to the development of these illnesses. They are a coping mechanism for difficulties in that individual’s life, and are much more about feelings at the core, than they are about just food or weight.

Eating disorders have no look, shape or size. They can affect anyone, at any age, gender, race, ethnic background, from all walks of life. Eating disorders are as individual as the people they affect. According to Eating Disorders NI, although traditionally assumed as a disorder affecting teenage girls, it can impact anyone and not everyone will have the same signs, symptoms or experiences.

Department of Health NI estimated figures reveal that up to 20000 individuals will be living with an eating disorder at any one time in Northern Ireland and with an annual spend of £2 million dedicated to specialist eating disorder services since 2008, excluding inpatient and treatment costs outside Northern Ireland, it is evident how much this affects our local population and economy (health-ni.gov.uk).

 Deborah McCready who works with AMH EveryBODY managing services for clients living with eating disorders  said,

“Behind every statistic, every diagnosis is a person who feels. You deserve to be heard, you deserve to be valued. EveryBODY deserves support. Continuing, “If I could offer anyone reading this post during this Eating Disorder Awareness Week, who may be struggling in silence with their eating disorder, I would like to reassure them that eating disorders have no look, shape or size. I also want to remind you that you are so much more than your eating disorder. You are more than numbers, shape or size. You bring value to this world simply by being you.  Eating disorders thrive in isolation so recovery begins with support.

If you are struggling today please know that your voice matters, you deserve to be heard.  It is never too soon, or too late to ask for help. EveryBODY can be affected by eating disorders, so everyBODY deserves support.”

Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW) runs from 27 February – 5 March 2023.

This week we will share client stories – relatable testimonials and anecdotes, self-care tips and links to our video and useful websites where you will find more information and help. Remember, you are not alone and that you are enough.

NHS advice to help someone living with an eating disorder:

If a friend or relative has an eating disorder, such as anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder, you will probably want to do everything you can to help them recover.

You’re already doing a great job by finding out more about eating disorders and how to try to support them – it shows you care and helps you understand how they might be feeling.

Getting professional help from a doctor, practice nurse, or a school or college nurse will give your friend or relative the best chance of getting better. But this can be one of the most difficult steps for someone living with an eating disorder, so try to encourage them to seek help or offer to go along with them.

You can support them in other ways, too:

• Keep trying to include them – they may not want to go out or join in with activities, but keep trying to talk to them and ask them along, just like before. Even if they do not join in, they will still like to be asked. It will make them feel valued as a person.
• Try to build up their self-esteem – perhaps by telling them what a great person they are and how much you appreciate having them in your life.
• Give your time, listen to them and try not to give advice or criticise – this can be tough when you do not agree with what they say about themselves and what they eat. Remember, you do not have to know all the answers. Just making sure they know you’re there for them is what’s important. This is especially true when it feels like your friend or relative is rejecting your friendship, help and support. Click here for more information

The Links

(click on image below).

As reported by the BBC, last month Conservative MP Dean Russell told the Commons that requiring all businesses to undergo Mental Health First Aid Training could be the answer to increasing early intervention and decreasing workplace absences across the UK.

Whilst Russell argued that the organisational cost of making mental health first aid training mandatory would be offset by the impact of the training on sickness absences and productivity, many employers will be left with the question “Is Mental Health First Aid Training really worthwhile?”.

The reality is that workplace mental health is continuing to deteriorate in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. With many organisations promoting hybrid working or endorsing a return to the office, employees often find themselves struggling to manage the demands of both work and home life. In fact, recent research found that 42% of UK employees report feeling more exhausted than ever in 2023. 

Perhaps more startlingly, 1 in 4 UK employees are estimated to be suffering from a diagnosed mental health condition, yet only 13% of UK employees would feel comfortable talking about their mental health in work. Moreover, a Deloitte survey found that 21% of employees have lost their job in the last year, with 61% citing poor mental health as the reason that they’re leaving. Another report cited mental health as the primary contributor to long term absence from work.

In sum, mental ill health is estimated to cost UK employers up to £56 billion per year.

“Perhaps more startlingly, 1 in 4 UK employees are estimated to be suffering from a diagnosed mental health condition, yet only 13% of UK employees would feel comfortable talking about their mental health in work.”

In contrast, research by Public Health Matters recently found that mental health training can generate a return investment of up to 800%. Not only do these programmes improve stress, decrease absence and protect workplace morale, but they also act as a vital preventative measure, with every £1 spent yielding a return on investment of up to £9.

With this in mind, the question is no longer whether employers can afford Mental Health First Aid Training, but instead, whether employers can afford not to provide this training.

To find out more about accessing Mental Health First Aid Training (MHFA) for your business, visit https://www.amh.org.uk/services/amh-works/  or email [email protected] for more details. 

You can find the original BBC story this article was based on at Mental health first aid law proposed in parliament

One of Northern Ireland’s leading mental health charities, Action Mental Health (AMH), is delighted to announce its charity partner, McCartan Turkington Breen Solicitors (MTB), raised over £6,600 throughout 2022.

McCartan Turkington Breen is a full-service law firm in Belfast. 

Action Mental Health is a charity that changes the lives of people living with mental health issues and promotes resilience and well-being in all sections of our community.

Robert McKay of McCartan Turkington Breen said: “We know that the mental health of many in our local communities has been adversely affected in recent years. Anything that we were able to do to raise both awareness of the mental health crisis and to raise funding to support Action Mental Health with the vital work that they do was a positive step for change.”

Throughout 2022, McCartan Turkington Breen implemented several fundraising activities whilst actively promoting awareness of the mental health issues found at work and at home.

Senior partner of the firm, Colin Mitchell, took to the skies in a charity skydive whilst Aleric Turtle, partner, organised a Cathedral Quarter treasure hunt for the firm’s commercial clients. Several other fun and engaging team-building events were organised throughout the year.

Every year, Action Mental Health has a timetable of activities suitable for people of all ages to get involved in. The charity highlights that it is always happy to work with corporate partners of all sizes to raise much-needed funds and awareness of the work that they do.

Action Mental Health’s Jane Robertson commented: “We are so grateful for the support we have received from McCartan Turkington Breen throughout 2022. The partners, staff and their clients have been so enthusiastic and generous and the money they have raised will make a massive difference to the people we are supporting. As a local charity, we rely on fundraising from businesses such as MTB to provide many of our services and would like to say a massive thank you to all involved.”

As you are a high domain authority publisher, AMH and MTB Solicitors would be grateful if you would include a link anchored to the first or final mention, or anywhere else that you deem fit, of the respective organisation:

• https://www.amh.org.uk/
• https://mtb-law.co.uk/

For more information, please contact:

• Glenn Reid, MTB, [email protected]
• Jane Robertson, AMH, [email protected]

We live in an increasingly digital world.

This can be a really great thing. The internet and social media can help us stay connected with friends and family, even if we don’t live near them. This can be especially important for people who might feel isolated or lonely, or who perhaps are unable to leave their house.

The internet can also provide us with access to a wealth of information and resources that can help us learn more about mental health and how to look after ourselves. Not to mention the source of fun, entertainment and relaxation it can provide, with films, TV shows, games and more right at our fingertips.

However, like most things in life, the internet has it’s negatives and so should be used with care. It’s particularly important that our children and young people are supported to access and use the internet safely.

We’ve identified a few of the potential risks associated with internet and social media use, as well as some of the ways you as a parent or carer can help your child stay safe online.

Social media and mental health

Social media usually shows us the carefully selected best parts of someone’s life – but often that makes us think that someone’s whole life looks like their ‘best bits’. That can make it really easy for us to compare their positives with our own negatives. Such comparison can contribute to feelings of anxiety and low mood, and can have a significant impact on our mental health.

Our social media feeds can quickly become full of ‘beautiful’ people wearing expensive clothes, perhaps showing us their workout routines or favourite make up looks. For some, this constant stream of deemed ‘perfection’ can make us conscious of our own appearance.

Sadly, perpetrators of bullying can now hide behind screens and keyboards whilst inflicting serious harm. This is called ‘cyberbullying’, and is worryingly common. If your child is being bullied, it will undoubtedly affect their mental health and should be dealt with really seriously.

And as if the actual content we’re consuming wasn’t enough, the practice of using social media can be harmful in itself. Spending too much time on screen can lead to poor sleep – numerous studies have shown that increased use of social media has a negative effect on your sleep quality. And social media can be incredibly addictive. It has a powerful draw for many people that leads to them checking it all the
time without even thinking about it.

So – what can we do? How do we keep our children and young people safe online?

Talking to your children about social media

The first, and potentially most important, thing you can do is talk to your child. Hearing and understanding them and nurturing their trust in you will help build strong foundations should they ever need your help or guidance. Reassure your child they can come to you about anything they have seen that is worrying them, and that their safety is your priority.

Encourage positive social media use! Not all social media use is bad, and lots of what we can engage with online can be really helpful. Encourage your child to use social networking sites in a positive manner to connect with their friends, and to avoid mindlessly scrolling. Importantly, you should model to them the sort of behaviour your expect from them. You can’t tell your child to reduce their screen time whilst spending all evening on your own phone; nor can you ask that they be polite and kind to others on social media if they can see you post and comment negative messages.

Encourage privacy. By being informed on the ways in which information can be shared online, you can help your child with their privacy settings in order to better protect their safety online. Work together to ensure the right settings are in place around privacy and location.

Teach your child about ‘fake news’. Children should be aware that not all information found online is correct, accurate or relevant. Show your child how to check information they find by comparing it to alternative sources on the same topic.

Setting healthy boundaries

Whatever their age, it’s a good idea to sit down together with your child to come up with some agreements about how much time they spend online to protect their wellbeing.

For example, you might want to agree that they shouldn’t go online just before bed or use any devices at night, because this can affect their sleep. You can often set timers on devices to limit internet use – but try to help your child manage this for themselves as well.

Setting parental controls can be a good way of gaining peace of mind that your child isn’t accessing anything inappropriate or unsafe. It is, however, important to remember that as your child grows up they may learn ways of getting round these. This is why it is so important to be able to talk openly to your
children about social media and the risks in order to help them make good decisions for themselves.

By staying informed, being proactive and nurturing trusting relationships with your children, you can help them navigate the digital world with confidence and security.

As parents and carers, it’s natural to feel concerned about your child’s social media use. With so many potential dangers and negative outcomes, it’s understandable to feel a sense of fear and uncertainty. However, it’s important to remember that social media can also offer a lot of positive opportunities for growth and connection. The good news is that you don’t have to navigate any of this alone. There are so many tools and resources available to you. You can access our full social media guide for parents below, and at the back of that there are a number of additional resources and services that may be useful to you.

This year’s Children’s Mental Health Week is focusing on connections and one of the key ways we connect now is through social media.

The benefit of social networking is that it allows us to stay connected with friends and family. However like most things, there can be negatives too.

In the guide below we’ll point to ways you can use social media effectively helping improve your online wellbeing.

It was 2015 after two suicide attempts that I was advised by a friend in work about Action Mental Health (AMH) and the Workable NI program. To be honest at the time, in my extremely low mood, I felt what’s the point and this is gonna be another one of these lifeless schemes that are more about ticking boxes than helping people. How wrong I was.

From the first session I had with the first of many keyworkers, I was made to feel valued, cared for and not judged for experiencing a severe dip in my mental health. I was listened to from the off and they tailored their help to me. They constantly reassessed their help with me, always seeming to provide as much as they could than they could…which was to prove invaluable. They communicated things, with my permission, with my manager who was able to get a full picture without the awkwardness of my repeating myself along with the vulnerability.

There were many dark moments during my journey when AMH gave me a safe space to be and encouraged me to keep going. Each Key Worker they provided, brought their own individual skills to help me on that stage of my recovery. From those who sat with me patiently in the silence to those who motivated me to self-care to those who laughed when I found the true me again.

In the short, sometimes in life a person or an organisation IS SENT to assist you on a difficult part of this journey and you don’t realise what they do for you at the time until the storm settles and you get a chance to reflect. And in this reflection I found true value in and gratitude for the organisation called Action Mental Health and the Workable NI Programme, its upbeat receptionists, its ever caring keyworkers and its management team who ensured I was given the space I needed to find me again.

Thank you. From the heart.

Gary Tate.

You can find out more about the Workable NI Programme by clicking here.

Just in time to help celebrate Children’s Mental Health Week, the AMH team recently revisited Artigarvan Primary School in County Tyrone, capturing a short video charting how Action Mental Health’s Little Healthy Me and Better Together programmes, are continuing to help the school community of staff, parents and children better manage their mental health. 

Little Healthy Me positively promotes mental health and social and emotional wellbeing in children and focuses on prevention and self-help. Targeted at 4 -7 year olds, it is a refreshing interactive and fun 3-hour workshop, delivered over 3 sessions by experienced AMH MensSana and AMH OUR Generation project workers. 

Principal, Judith Harper said, “We became involved with AMH during lockdown when their facilitator came into the school and worked with the children, right up to P7 with both Little Healthy Me and Better Together programmes. They have gained so much from these sessions and I would recommend them to anyone.”

Emma McCartney from AMH OUR Generation said, “The children loved taking part in the video and showed how much they had learned since our last session, setting up peer mentors to help each other and encourage inclusion and diversity at school.”

Teacher Alison Preston said, “ The pupils were very engaged, listening to what the facilitator had to say. They are comfortable sharing thoughts and feelings and by the end of the 4-week course ten P5 peer mentors knew how to adopt their roles. Importantly, the programme has helped us to confidently identify the wellbeing of the children. They look out for and help each other, share kindness together and know who to turn to if they need help.”

Parent Joanne Kerr, who took part in an AMH wellbeing event last year, found the session to be extremely helpful with excellent support from well-informed staff. She said, “The learning session looked at parents’ wellbeing and the importance of taking time out to return to family life refreshed. After all, you can’t pour from an empty cup!”

AMH MensSana and OUR Generation also provide alternative programmes for both primary and secondary education age groups as well as sessions for parents, carers and staff. 

These unique programmes are available across Northern Ireland. The programmes are designed to be diverse but inclusive and have a broad appeal across all age groups. For more information or to book a session please visit:

https://www.amh.org.uk/services/menssana/

or https://ourgeneration-cyp.com/

Watch the video now! 

Never Too Early or too Late to Seek Support

Children’s Mental Health Week 2023 – theme Let’s Connect – 6-12 February 2023.

Why ‘Let’s Connect’?

The theme for this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week 2023 is ‘Let’s Connect’ and if there is anything the last few years has taught us, it’s that humans thrive through connection and that it is absolutely vital for our wellbeing and survival.

Without these connections with others we can feel isolated and lonely which can negatively impact our mental health. 

According to mentalhealth.org evidence shows that people who are more socially connected to family, friends, or their community are happier, physically healthier and enjoy longer lives with fewer mental health problems than people who are less well connected.

It’s not just the number of friends you have it’s the quality of your close relationships that matters.

Imperial College London’s Institute of Global Health Innovation brings evidence from a recent study. It showed that building good connections and having a good social connections while accessing online support, perhaps through virtual therapy sessions or peer support sites, reduced symptoms of depression in young people by as much as 26%. It’s also thought that this helps to improve anxiety and wellbeing.

The great news is it is never too early or too late to seek support and help. 

Free resources for primary age and secondary age children and young people will help you take part in the week visit https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk

If you’re interested in more information about how Action Mental Health supports children’s and young people’s mental health visit our MensSana and OUR Generation pages for more information.

ends.