The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting many people’s mental health in ways we might not have anticipated. For anyone dealing with an eating disorder, the coronavirus lockdown poses some unique challenges. We explore some strategies that may help.
Living with an eating disorder can be tricky at the best of times. If you are one of the 1.25 million people in the UK who falls into this category, or if you care for somebody who does, you are no doubt used to taking things day by day and meeting the challenges as they arise.
However, the coronavirus pandemic is an unprecedented situation and with that come unprecedented difficulties. For anyone dealing with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or another type of eating disorder, the pressures imposed by lockdown may weigh on you especially hard.
For one thing, we are all grappling with changes to our normal routine, and facing many unknowns. Beyond that, the situation has thrown up many food-specific challenges – think empty shelves in supermarkets and concerns around food shopping – along with rules around exercise and socialising which may exacerbate your anxieties.
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