It Takes a Village: Why Community Matters in Eating Disorder Recovery
Eating Disorders Awareness Week (23 February – 1 March 2026) is centred around an important and powerful theme: community.
This year, led by Beat Eating Disorders, the campaign highlights something we see every day in our work: recovery is rarely a solo journey. It is built, sustained, and strengthened through connection – with family, friends, professionals, peers, and wider support networks.
In many ways, healing from an eating disorder truly reflects the old saying:
It takes a village.
Recovery Is Not a Lone Road
Eating disorders thrive in isolation. They often encourage secrecy, withdrawal, and a sense of being “different” or misunderstood. Over time, this can leave people feeling alone with their thoughts, fears, and struggles.
Community challenges that isolation.
Whether it’s a parent learning how to offer support without blame, a friend checking in after a difficult day, a clinician providing steady guidance, or a peer sharing “you’re not alone”, every connection matters.
No single person has to carry everything. And no one should.
The Many Faces of “Community”
When we talk about community in eating disorder recovery, we don’t mean just one thing. It can look different for everyone:
- Family learning how to support meals, emotions, and setbacks with compassion
- Friends offering normality, patience, and gentle encouragement
- Clinical teams providing specialist, evidence-based care
- Schools, universities, and workplaces creating understanding and flexibility
- Peer support networks reminding people that others truly “get it”
- Online communities offering connection when face-to-face support feels hard
Each piece plays a role. Together, they form a safety net.
Why Multidisciplinary (MDT) Care Matters
At the heart of effective eating disorder treatment is multidisciplinary team (MDT) working – a true “village” of professionals collaborating around each individual.
Eating disorders affect both physical and mental health. They impact thoughts, emotions, behaviours, relationships, and the body itself. No single professional can safely or fully address all of these areas alone.
MDT care brings together different areas of expertise, often including:
- Psychologists and therapists
- Psychiatrists
- Specialist dietitians
- GPs and medical professionals
- Support staff and care coordinators
When these professionals work closely together, care becomes:
- Safer — physical and mental health risks are monitored together
- More consistent — everyone is working towards shared goals
- More personalised — treatment is adapted to the whole person
- More supportive — no clinician carries responsibility alone
Regular communication within an MDT allows teams to spot concerns early, respond quickly to changes, and provide joined-up care that reflects the complexity of eating disorders.
In many ways, MDT working is the professional embodiment of “it takes a village” — ensuring that people are held by a network of expertise, not left navigating recovery on their own.
The Power of Feeling Understood
One of the most healing experiences in recovery is feeling truly seen and understood.
Many people with eating disorders describe feeling:
- “Too much”
- “A burden”
- “Difficult”
- “Not sick enough”
- “Not worthy of help”
Community challenges these beliefs.
When someone is met with empathy instead of judgement, curiosity instead of criticism, and patience instead of pressure, something shifts. Shame softens. Trust grows. Hope becomes possible again.
Supporting Someone: You Don’t Have to Be Perfect
For families and loved ones, supporting someone with an eating disorder can feel overwhelming. Many worry:
- “Am I saying the wrong thing?”
- “Am I making it worse?”
- “Why can’t I fix this?”
The truth is: you don’t need to be perfect.
What matters most is:
- Showing up
- Listening
- Staying curious
- Being willing to learn
- Not giving up
Recovery isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about walking alongside someone, even when the path feels uncertain.
For Those Struggling: You Belong Here
If you are living with an eating disorder, you may feel like you don’t fit anywhere. Like everyone else has it figured out. Like you’re behind. Like you’re broken.
You are not.
You are part of this community too.
You deserve support. You deserve understanding. You deserve care — not only when things are “bad enough,” but simply because you are human and struggling.
You don’t have to carry this alone.
Small Acts, Big Impact
Community doesn’t always look dramatic. Often, it shows up in quiet ways:
- A text that says, “Thinking of you”
- Sitting together during a difficult meal
- Attending an appointment for moral support
- Learning about eating disorders
- Advocating when someone feels unable to speak
- Staying patient through setbacks
These small acts accumulate. Over time, they help build resilience and recovery.
Building Kinder Communities
As part of Eating Disorders Awareness Week, we are encouraged to ask:
How can we make our communities safer, kinder, and more supportive?
That might mean:
- Challenging harmful diet culture
- Avoiding comments about weight and bodies
- Speaking openly about mental health
- Educating ourselves and others
- Making space for vulnerability
- Showing compassion rather than judgement
Every person has a role to play.
It Takes a Village – And You Are Part of It
Recovery is rarely linear. There are steps forward, steps back, pauses, and detours. Along the way, community provides the steady ground that makes progress possible.
No one recovers because they are “strong enough.”
People recover because they are supported enough.
This Eating Disorders Awareness Week, we celebrate the parents who never stop learning, the friends who keep showing up, the clinicians who collaborate within MDTs, and the individuals who keep going — even on the hardest days.
It takes a village.
And together, we can help make that village one where no one has to feel alone. 💛
