OMG, there are some truly nasty, vile and cruel people out there!

I made the mistake of checking out some of the comments on the online version of yesterday's Daily Mail article which featured our story of battling to get my son, Ben, through anorexia. (At the moment, the online version is behind a paywall but  you can read a full transcript on my website here.)

I only read a few of the (so far nearly 100) comments and they are incredibly cruel, nasty and vile.

I would love to sit all of these horrible people in a room with me, lock the door and force them to hear my story from start to finish.

You may have seen me in the newspaper yesterday

A few weeks ago, a journalist from a national UK newspaper - the Daily Mail - emailed me to see if I'd be interested in being interviewed for an article on eating disorders in boys, to raise awareness that boys get eating disorders too. It was the first interview I'd done since succumbing to Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (c-PTSD) as a result of battling to get my son through anorexia and back to full health.

I said yes, because I felt that, finally, I'd be able to talk to the media again (I used to raise awareness that boys get eating disorders like anorexia quite a bit, but then I fell sick with c-PTSD and just couldn't face "going back there").

I've just been interviewed, in depth, for a national newspaper. Going back over everything was weird...

Before my c-PTSD (Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) struck around 10 or 11 years ago, I did quite a few media appearances and interviews about boys with eating disorders, also talking about how my son, Ben, was well on the way to recovery from anorexia. But I had to put on the brakes when the c-PTSD symptoms got worse. I got to the stage where I couldn't talk about eating disorders, I couldn't write or blog about eating disorders, I couldn't even think about eating disorders. And I definitely couldn't go into depth about our family's battle to get our son through anorexia. 

Then the other week a journalist from a national newspaper got in touch, asking if I'd be willing to be interviewed for an article on eating disorders in boys. I said yes, for the first time for ages. However...

14 years ago a parent contacted me through this blog... What happened next was amazing.

14 years ago, I got an email from a mum who'd been following this blog. She wrote to say that her own situation was almost identical to mine and that she'd found this blog tremendously helpful, especially as eating disorder services for teenagers were virtually non-existent where she lived. She'd been following this blog, reading about what worked for us and trying it out with her daughter - she'd also found the incredible resource https://feast-ed.org/ through this blog and had joined its Around The Dinner Table Forum for parents of young people with eating disorders after she learned how it had been a lifesaver for me.

That was just the start... What happened next was amazing...

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water... Me, not my son (thankfully)

I've talked many times on here about how my son's anorexia caused me to develop Complex-PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) - and talking with my friends from the world of eating disorder parents, I'm far from alone. Not surprisingly, many other parents suffer from trauma symptoms, too.

I'm just interested... Does anyone still read this blog?

 I've been dipping into this blog recently for one reason and another and am wondering if anyone still reads this blog? Please let me know if you do. Bev xx

Can you help my son with an important study he's doing as his thesis for his MSc in Psychology? Please reply ASAP!

I am so proud of my son! At 28-years old, he's been working tooth and nail at an MSc in Psychology with the goal of using his own experiences with mental health (eating disorders in particular) to help others. What could be better? As his mum, I am 1000% behind him in his passion for psychology and am floating on air. Back in the days... months... years of his terrible eating disorder (anorexia), I could never have dreamed that he'd end up so passionate and knowledgeable about mental health issues and use his experiences to go on to help others. Just... WOW!!! Anyway, we need YOUR help...