Clinical Director

Anorexia nervosa does not usually appear overnight. For many people, it develops gradually: what may initially look like an increased interest in healthy eating or a desire to lose weight can become increasingly rigid, consuming and difficult to step away from. For someone experiencing these changes, or for a parent, partner or friend watching them…

Recognising the signs of anorexia

Binge eating and depression can become tightly intertwined. You might find yourself eating large amounts of food, sometimes quickly or in secret, and feeling unable to stop. Afterwards, the temporary relief may be replaced by guilt, shame or self-criticism. When you are already struggling with depression, those feelings can deepen your low mood – making…

If you are a parent worried about what your teenager is seeing online and how it might be affecting their relationship with food or their body, you are asking the right question. Social media is now a central part of adolescent life, and its influence on body image and eating is a legitimate clinical concern,…

When an eating disorder is escalating — whether you are experiencing it yourself or watching someone you love deteriorate — the instinct is often to seek the most intensive intervention available. For many people, that means searching for inpatient eating disorder treatment, residential treatment or eating disorder hospitals, on the assumption that a more contained…

If you are a parent of a teenager, you have almost certainly noticed it — a comment about their stomach in front of the mirror, a refusal to wear something they used to love, a new and intense interest in what they eat or how they look. Your instinct is telling you to pay attention….

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are both serious eating disorders, but they are not the same condition. Understanding how they differ — in terms of behaviours, physical effects and psychological drivers — is not about labelling or categorising. It is about helping people to better understand what they, or a loved one, are experiencing.   In…

When concern about eating well begins to dominate your thoughts, narrow your social life and leave you anxious rather than nourished, it may have shifted from a positive intention into something more distressing. This is the territory of orthorexia — an increasingly recognised pattern in which a focus on food quality becomes rigid, all-consuming and…

Orthorexia nervosa describes an increasingly rigid preoccupation with “healthy” or “clean” eating that, over time, begins to cause significant psychological distress and functional impairment. It is not a formal diagnosis in the DSM-5 or ICD-11, but it is a well-recognised clinical presentation — one that eating disorder specialists encounter regularly and that responds to structured,…

Deciding to seek help for an eating disorder – whether for yourself or someone you care about – is a significant step. It often comes with another difficult question: where should I go for help? The NHS provides essential eating disorder services across the UK, and for many people it is the first point of…

Our Clinical Director, Dr Bryony Bamford, recently joined the Relational Lives Podcast for an episode titled “Loving Someone in Denial: Eating Disorders and the Strain on Relationships.” In this thoughtful conversation, Bryony discusses how eating disorders can affect relationships, particularly when a loved one may be struggling to recognise or accept the seriousness of their difficulties. The episode explores…