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It was while browsing social media at the age of 13 that Hannah realized she was suffering from an eating disorder. Seeing other girls and women talking about their experiences, she thought, “It’s me.
Since then, the 17-year-old has been on the road to recovery, which includes a recent relapse during the Covid-19 pandemic. She said that after initially seeking help through her GP, it took her “about a year to get help” despite “seeing three different doctors”.
The increase in eating disorders among young people was highlighted in a recent report showing that the number of problems has doubled in recent years.
It comes amid a general decline in mental health among people aged 6 to 23, with more than half of young people aged 17 to 23 struggling with insomnia.
Hannah attributes the increase in eating disorders to a lack of control in her generation.
“I think that is the gist and there is also a huge misconception about balance and what is healthy,” she said, adding that in back-to-back blockages people were bombarded with messages. that they needed to “exercise” and “lose weight”.
She finds social media more useful than damaging, saying it has allowed her to connect with people who share her experiences. She also struggled to get help, saying she often felt rejected by doctors.
When she first spoke to her family doctor, they seemed indifferent, despite the fact that her period had stopped.
Eventually, she was referred to children’s mental health services and received outpatient support, which continued until the first lockdown of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. As soon as the support was withdrawn, she relapsed and is now back in the healthcare system.
Rebecca, a mother of two, agrees that it is difficult to get support for young people. She has struggled to get help through the NHS for her 11-year-old son, who suffers from anxiety-induced insomnia that leaves him awake in the middle of the night. She eventually paid for a private advisor.
There isn’t enough recognition for mental health issues in young children, she said, adding that her son’s problems “have really come to a head during the lockdown.”
“[He] is an excessive thinker, ”she said. In addition to the pandemic, his insomnia has also been affected by his entry into a new school and his move. After trying some home remedies, like spraying lavender on her son’s pillow, she sought professional help.
The boy believes the increase in insomnia is due to the pressure on his generation, made worse by the coronavirus.
“During the lockdown, people were stuck inside all the time and couldn’t see their friends. It made it worse, ”he said. He added that social media is not helping because it magnifies children’s problems.
It is for this reason that Rebecca tries to keep her sons away from platforms such as WhatsApp, and she believes that not being able to sleep is intrinsically linked to a rise in anxiety and the fact that young people are exposed to much more than previous generations. . “They’ve also been through a lot in the past 18 months,” she said.
Rebecca’s nine-year-old son has the same symptoms as her brother, although she has yet to investigate whether he also suffers from anxiety.
“I think there should be more recognition of mental health issues in young children. If the pandemic hadn’t happened, I think there would be less awareness, ”she said.
Hannah agrees education is key and said she would like to see schools talk more about eating disorders. “There is so much being taught about the obesity crisis, but no one is talking about those who die of eating disorders every year,” she said.
“The intervention also needs to be faster because the longer an eating disorder is left untreated, the harder it is for someone to improve.”
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