OK, so what is the purpose of this blog?

Some of my contacts have written books on the subject; others write blogs or get into the media. But the ONLY reason that any of us 'goes public' about our experiences as parents of teenagers with eating disorders is to do our small bit to help others facing a similar situation. We are neither seeking to exploit our children's eating disorders  nor trying to draw attention to ourselves. We are just acutely aware of how precious little information and help there was for us when we started our own nightmarish journeys into the world of anorexia. Even if we help just one desperate parent to find hope then we've done our job.

Seaside, here I come - this time with Ben in tow...

A couple of years ago I discovered a great little 'bolt hole' overlooking a wide bay at the seaside. The sunny, south facing living room looks straight out over the sea, the 2 bedrooms overlook the sea, everything overlooks the sea - and at night you can lie in bed, staring out across the high tide with the pretty lights reflected in the water.

Whizzing around Waitrose at a rate of knots!

Time was (in the 'high anorexia' days) when a visit to Waitrose would take AGES. It would take anorexic Ben ages and ages and ages to choose things, picking stuff up and putting it down, getting it as far as the trolley and even as far as the checkout only to back-track and put stuff back on the shelf and start again... And, of course, the first thing he'd look for would be the dreaded fat content and calories. Today, however, we zoomed around.

I've completely updated my website

It's 18 months or so since I first launched my website: Anorexiaboy.co.uk So I decided it could do with a bit of updating. Uninspired by the layout, I also decided to completely change the look. Result? I've spent the last couple of days re-vamping everything on the website. It's not complete and is a bit of a 'work in progress', but I think you'll get the general idea. Let me know what you think or what you would change. Also, let me know if you'd like me to add any useful links to the links page.

It's OK to listen to chilled summer music again!

Last summer I found it impossible to listen to the usual chilled summer music on my CD player. For one thing I most definitely wasn't chilled and, another, suddenly I found that lyrics had a whole new meaning for me especially if they were about "missing" someone or whatever. Because I missed the real, non-ED Ben like crazy and - at the time - I had no idea if we would be getting him back...

But this summer the CD player is back on again and I'm able to enjoy all those songs I couldn't listen to last year.

It's (not) funny how certain situations can cause flashbacks...

Ben's been cooking some scrumptuous evening meals for us recently. That is, until tonight's meal which turned out dry and 'average'. So he took our plates back into the kitchen to make a few adjustments, leaving me at the dinner table for 5 minutes. Suddenly I was hit by a painful and dramatic flashback to how it would have been 12 months ago...

Rock-hard abs, yet without working out 24/7/365 to achieve it

One of the environmental factors that exacerbated our son's anorexia was the desire for a 'six pack' and the kind of rock-hard muscular body that would normally require working out 24/7/365. Although Ben enjoyed some exercise and was very sporty, he insists he was essentially lazy. So he found a 'clever' way of achieving his goal: by restricting his food intake.