"Great outpatient treatment for an Eating Disorder"

For the past year I have been receiving treatment and support from an amazing Nurse Specialist at the Yorkshire Centre for Eating Disorders.

When I first started attending appointments I had been continuously losing weight for around 4 years and more dramatically so for around the year leading up to my appointments beginning. I was struggling to cope and didn't really know where to go or what to do about it..

I found the CBT and anxiety management techniques especially helpful and grew to really trust the Nurse I was seeing (Louise) not to judge me. Because of this we could talk through the way I felt about things - including fears that I'd previously never have spoken about because I thought I was being ridiculous - and challenge and/or cope with the feelings rather than accepting them and letting them take over my life so much.

Whilst I haven't gained a significant amount of weight over the past year, I honestly believe that I would have probably continued to lose weight and deteriorate were it not for the brilliant help I've had. More importantly than anything else, I feel much more able to cope with things now and don't let food and anxiety rule my life as much as I did before. I can also deal with stress much better which I've realised has a massive impact on my eating.

I have maintained my weight for a while now and whilst I'm a bit scared to have been discharged I feel much better equipped to cope with life now and I'm hopeful that things will carry on getting better, whereas before everything was just getting worse.

I would like to thank the YCED - and especially Louise - for the care I've received and would recommend anybody who is referred there to accept the treatment as it's made a huge difference to me despite how nervous I was about it beforehand.