Ever get the feeling that you are a tiny drop in a massive ocean? Yesterday, while I was trawling around the internet for the latest news on eating disorders, it suddenly hit me that - year upon year - we read reports about avoidable failures in eating disorder treatment, promised funding that never seems to materialise at grass roots level, failures of governments to take eating disorders seriously, media interest in eating disorders at times like Eating Disorders Awareness Week but at no other time, and - worst of all - deaths that should never have been allowed to happen.
Sometimes it seems as if nothing has changed and it's the same old merry-go-round year after year. And at times like these I really wonder whether minuscule activities like my blog are doing any good.
I feel like a grain of sand in the Sahara.
I know that, in reality, it's a case of lots of tiny ripples adding up to a tsunami. None of us can Change The World as individuals, but we can do our tiny bit to help to raise awareness and create change. Collectively, I hope, this adds up to quite a lot.
But when I see the same old stuff being reported year after year... when I hear the same accounts of avoidable tragedies, lack of awareness and understanding, and terrified families facing situations that are beyond their wildest nightmares... I get so disheartened.
I have always said that the primary purpose of this blog is to help other families to identify the symptoms of eating disorders in boys and get prompt, evidence-based help. The other purpose is to help raise awareness of the fact that boys and men get eating disorders, just like girls and women.
And I know this blog has helped some families.
But it doesn't stop me from being disheartened on occasions and wondering if, after blogging here for seven years (since January 2011), I'm simply writing stuff that no-one will ever read - and that my activities are so tiny and minuscule that they couldn't possibly be of any use in the wider scheme of things.
Want information on eating disorders in boys? Worried your son has an eating disorder? What are the signs of eating disorders in boys? In 2009 my 15-year-old son developed anorexia. Now aged 31 and with a MSc in Psychology he is recovered & working in mental health using his experiences to help others. I help to raise awareness of eating disorders in boys, point parents to helpful resources & talk about how eating disorders can traumatise families.
Hi Bev, I understand how you feel in this post, but it sounds like you're already making a big difference by sharing your experience with your son as there's still hardly anyone talking regularly and sensibly about eating disorders in men and boys. I hope to do the same about eating disorders in adults and older adults as this is another area that generally gets neglected. It will take time to break down the stereotypical image of the teenage girl sufferer. I believe that each time there's a sensible comment out there, and each time we call out the stupid or triggering ones, it helps to gradually change attitudes. Keep going - I really admire what you've done!
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