Along the path of recovery from eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia, it’s important to get help from people who have gone through the same struggles.
But beyond peer support there are trained dieticians and therapists whose expertise also can be valuable, particularly during the stressful times brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A few months back, we consulted with our community stakeholders, folks who have accessed our support, to try to get a sense of what more can we do to support people during the recovery process, during the pandemic,” said Shaleen Jones, the executive director of Eating Disorders Nova Scotia, in an interview Tuesday.
“What we heard loud and clear was that access to professional services was a huge need and a real barrier.”
Some people either don’t have the money or the health insurance to get professional help so Jones’ organization has launched a pilot project for access to nutritional counselling from Halifax dietitian Breanne Hopkins.
“She’s amazing, She brings experience working with folks who are recovered from an eating disorder so she really understands what that recovery process is like and she’s worked with adults and young people as well,” Jone said.
“We’re really pleased we can offer her services and we’re able to heavily subsidize that cost so if you have private insurance, no problem, you know you’re getting a really great dietician who really understands the process. And if you can’t afford it, like so many people can’t, it’s subsidized by the organization.”
Spike in people seeking help
Jones said Eating Disorders Nova Scotia has seen about a 400 per cent increase in the number of people seeking help since the pandemic began.
“We know that so many people who struggle with an eating disorder do so alone and there’s so much shame and secrecy surrounding eating disorders, so in some ways it’s a good thing that folks have been able to reach out and to ask for some support during these challenging times that we’re all in,” said Jones.
Her group has helped about 1,000 people over the past months by offering programs including virtual chats and workshops, peer support groups and one-on-one peer support mentoring.
Most are from Nova Scotia but her group will help people from outside the province.
Eating Disorders Awareness Week
Jones was one of a group of women who founded the group that would become Eating Disorders Nova Scotia around the year 2000. The not-for-profit organization emphasizes peer support and trains those who have recovered from eating disorders to help others.
“When I moved to Nova Scotia 20 some-odd years ago, there wasn’t a similar organization in this province so being young and not knowing any better I just thought we’ll form our own non-profit and get support for folks who are struggling,” she recounted.
“We’re really grounded in that belief that people who have overcome eating disorders have something unique to contribute and we draw upon the power of peer support.”
This is Eating Disorders Awareness Week in Canada and the group has been holding virtual events to mark the occasion. There will be an online panel Tuesday evening called Meet the Mentors and a session Thursday with the dietitian Breanne Hopkins. More details on these events and other programs can be found at https://eatingdisordersns.ca.
