Our blog.
Authenticity is a core part of Orri’s philosophy. Our blog is a place to share news and updates on Orri, but most importantly, discuss important topics in relation to eating disorders and recovery.
Shaping peace together through compassion, kindness and hope
Today, for International Day of Peace, we’re celebrating the theme “shaping peace together” by spreading compassion, kindness and hope in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. Never in our recent history have so many populations and generations been so collectively challenged...
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Handling mealtimes as a student.
We are right in the midst of student season. As we type, people are moving away or establishing themselves in an odd, virtual student world that no one quite knows how to navigate. With new environments and new schedules, comes new routines. For those in recovery from an eating disorder, routines are really important as they help individuals feel safe and secure in day-to-day life...
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Heading to university? This blog is for you.
The transition from school to university can be a difficult time. It typically comes at a point in life when many individuals are at a higher risk of developing a mental illness, such as an eating disorder, and the integration of new environments, routines and people can have a significant impact on our resilience. “Yes, you’re learning the subject matter for your degree, but you’re also learning about who you are.”
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5 Ways to Keep Your Recovery on Track
We hold onto the hope that someone doesn't have to "learn to live with" their eating disorder. We believe that with the right type and amount of support, and with dedication and commitment to the work of recovery, everyone can learn to live without the eating disorder. Keeping your recovery on track involves a few small - but really important - things...
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A note from Kerrie: Welcoming you back to Orri
"Today I sit, once again at my laptop, 6 months on, older and wiser (naturally!), and I am humbled, excited and relieved to be able to say that we are looking forward to welcoming you all to Orri this week." Kerrie shares her thoughts on reopening our London clinic.
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Should we ask about suicide? – Guest Blogger
Alice Newton-Leeming, Director of Mental Health Learning and Silver Trainer in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), discusses why we should, in fact, talk about suicide.
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My Experience With Suicidal Thoughts – Guest Blogger
"I thought I wanted it to work, I thought I wanted to die. What I didn’t realise at the time, was that yes - I did want to be alive, but no - I didn’t want to be alive living in my current state. I didn’t want to end my life, I wanted to end my suffering." Expert by experience and Orri Guest Speaker, Lizzie, shares her experience of suicide in eating disorder recovery.
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World Suicide Prevention Day: working together to prevent suicide
In this blog we’re doing something that many people struggle with…talking about suicide. World Suicide Prevention Day is a day that provides an opportunity for people, across the globe, to raise awareness of suicide and suicide prevention. We recognise that this may be difficult for some of our readers, so we are going to ask you to exercise your self-care in deciding if this is the right time for you to be reading this...
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Welcoming autumn, the season of letting things go
For many, spring represents birth and renewal; as we watch bulbs become daffodils and lambs lark in the fields. Summer symbolises freedom and youth, with long, light evenings full of opportunity and hours of warmth. Autumn, therefore, can represent adulthood and maturity, a time for reflection and letting go of what doesn’t serves us...
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For those difficult days…why recovery is worth it.
We know that it can be hard to hold onto hope in eating disorder recovery. It can be a long journey, made up of cumulative small steps forward, and some days are tougher than others. However, somehow you keep going, knowing that with a new day comes another chance to take back your life from the eating disorder.
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Checking In: Grounding Exercises for Uncertainty and Fear
Recently, we asked our Instagram community what was going on for them and, interestingly, most responded with fears around eating too much, gaining weight, constantly snacking or worries about bingeing. Collectively, we’re in a really transitional and uncertain period right now. Having a tolerance for uncertainty and learning to keep grounded during transitional periods is a skill that can be learnt...
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Exams and results: taking steps to tolerating difficult emotions
However your results go today, keep in mind that it’s perspective and resilience for what comes at us in life is what matters. Both of these things we have control over.
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Choosing a life without an eating disorder meant confronting why I needed it in the first place – Guest Blogger
"Life is supposed to be a journey from one happy event to the next, right? The glossy side of social media tells us the story that we are only living our “best lives” when we don’t have to contend with difficult emotions..." James Downs, mental health campaigner and expert by experience in eating disorders, generously shares his thoughts and experience as our latest guest blogger for Orri.
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“And I said to my body, I want to be your friend.” – On Friendship
The saying goes that you can’t properly love someone until you love yourself. For those reading that are suffering with an eating disorder, you may be familiar with a feeling of disconnect from others; a certain distance you feel between yourself and others. It may have nestled in between your closest friendships, or, in the dynamic between family members...
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Lockdown lessons and affirmations for this latest chapter
Let’s take a moment to recognise something important: you’re here, reading this blog, having made it through lockdown to (almost) the other side. For many of us it’s been tumultuous. We experienced shock, fear, disbelief, calm, quiet, anger, confusion, anxiety, grief…a whole LOAD of emotions in the space of 4-5 months. So, as we begin to come out of this tumultuous space and enter a so-called “new normal”, what have we learned? What’s going to stay with us?
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Orri’s Response: ‘I was terrified to put on weight’ – the ‘culture of fear’ in British gymnastics (BBC News)
No one, particularly those at a young age working in such competitive, gruelling industries, should be subject to a “culture of fear” that encourages individuals to question their sense of self and worth as a human being. Pavier’s story of retiring at age 17 after becoming “a shell of a person” demonstrates the severe impact on an individual’s mental health when their bodies are micro-managed.
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4 Things To Do As Lockdown Lifts
As things begin to open up, the expectation of springing back to normality is palpable, but what if lockdown life was actually peaceful? And the prospect of returning to “normality” really daunting?
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Life with an adult-onset eating disorder – Guest Blogger
Our first guest blogger, Emily, shares her experience of adult-onset eating disorder: "My journey now is about the connection between 'logic' and all those unbearable complex emotions and feelings I have about food and my body (by which I really mean, myself and my life). I don’t think this is all too different for adult-onset eating disorders than it is for people who fall victim to this when younger."
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The power of journaling – National Writing Day
For National Writing Day 2020, Orri has launched a contributor section to our blog, meaning that those who have been impacted by an eating disorder can share their experience and thoughts to nurture hope in recovery. Nikki, Orri's Creative Arts Therapist, shares her thoughts on the power of journaling.
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A blog about recovery – by Lizzie
Lizzie, an expert by experience, shares a guest blog about her amazing recovery journey. “It’s not just about eating food, gaining weight, or being discharged from treatment. It’s about re-framing your thoughts, creating new behaviour patterns, developing self-awareness and ultimately, creating a healthy relationship with yourself, your body, and food.”
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Men’s Health Week: Men’s Health Matters, a poem by our client
Our client shares a poem inspired by Men's Health Week.
"So now we must talk and send out the message
It’s okay not to be okay.
As a man or boy; old or young
We want to hear what you have to say."
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Men’s Health Week: Men, we are here to hear you.
It’s Men’s Health Week, and whilst this week is focusing on keeping men safe during covid-19 and lockdown, we’re going to “add on” the experience of being a man with an eating disorder. About 25% of people experiencing eating disorder symptoms are male, yet there are still considerable barriers for men when attempting to access treatment, and a wide spread lack of knowledge about men who experiences eating disorders generally.
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Men’s Health Week: Through the eyes of our male client
One of our amazing clients shares his experience of being a man with an eating disorder for Men’s Health Week. "It’s perfectly normal to hold anxiety about going into treatment but by taking that crucial first step, I no longer feel like I’m fighting my ED on my own."
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Men’s Health Week: The Risks to Men’s Mental Health During Covid-19 and Messages to Overcome Them
The psychological health of the nation is taking a substantial hit during Covid-19 and this is likely to affect everyone. As Men’s Mental Health Week begins what are the specific risks to men’s mental health during this pandemic?
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Kindness Matters.
A recap of the amazing submissions from our clients for Mental Health Awareness Week 2020. How do they make you feel?
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Treatment that meets you where you are.
It should be common knowledge that there’s no one way to have an eating disorder. That there’s no “right” or “wrong” way to have a problem, and that someone’s weight or relationship to food – whatever it may look like – is not the only indication of their suffering. Our online Evening and Weekend Programmes evolved from the knowledge that there will never be a “right time” to start treatment...
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“Kindness” – a poem by our client
Our client shares a poem inspired by the theme of Mental Health Awareness Week, "kindness".
"...I get a chance to process, to think them through,
Then these acts of kindness become easier to do..."
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What role does kindness plays in recovery and body image? – by our client
Inspired by Mental Health Awareness Week and the "kindness" theme, our client shares her thoughts on how kindness plays in recovery and body image...
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Meditation on kindness
Today, we had originally planned to write a blog post on how resilience and acceptance plays a role in being kind to ourselves, however, I struggled to put pen to paper. Investigating this, I feel it is because the act of being kind to ourselves is so personal, and our stories all so unique, it’s almost impossible to put this into words...
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“To truly help others one must help oneself…” – by our client
I need you to help but I need you to heal,
I need you to grow and to let yourself feel...
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“The more we speak, the more we can help others in despair…” – by our client
It is mental health awareness week,
A time to allow everyone to speak.
To rise up from fear,
And ensure everyone can hear...
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On kindness…for mental health awareness week
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme, much to our delight, is “kindness”. This is a particularly touching and pertinent theme, not only given the context that we’re in – navigating significant adjustments and restrictive measures during lockdown – but also because for those suffering with eating disorders, nurturing and allowing ourselves to turn “kindness” inward can be quite a challenge…but it is a necessary part of recovery...
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“Kindness” – our client’s poem for Mental Health Awareness Week
It's Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme is #KindnessMatters - a theme that is so pertinent to Orri because of how crucial nurturing kindness is for our recovery journeys. Our client shares a poem written for this week...
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Experiencing the Pandemic Through the Eyes of Anorexia – by our client
"As the world comes to a grinding halt the nightmare of COVID-19 is palpable. For me though it is not the nightmare of the virus itself, but the nightmare it presents to my eating disorder. I know I am not alone in fearing the current uncertainty and unknown, but that fear is compounded by the fact that I suffer from anorexia."
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I have a little something to say… -a poem by our client
Create a plan and structure your days
Set aside some time for fun
Whether it’s art or reading or knitting or singing
Don’t forget to step out into the sun...
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We are still connected at heart… – a poem by our client
April has disappeared
And May has suddenly appeared,
I was hoping by now that the virus had gone,
I guess I was wrong…
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Pregnancy, motherhood and eating disorders
This week is Maternal Mental Health Week, and the team at Orri are grateful for a space in which some of the more complex and unspoken aspects of motherhood can be shared and considered. The aim of this week is to raise awareness of the impact of mental illness both during and after pregnancy. For many this is a difficult area to approach, it is often surrounded by silence and a reluctance to explore for many reasons, but often because people feel uncertain about what to say and how to approach it.
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“Through this difficult time in quarantine…” – a poem by our client
Our client shares a poem that she wrote after a positive day in our online treatment programme, Orri Together. "It’s days like today that I can really recognise how special the Orri community is".
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Caring for someone with an eating disorder during lockdown
We wanted to take a (much-needed) moment to reflect on how a parent and carer - or best friend - may be feeling whilst caring for someone with an eating disorder during lockdown.
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Our client, on nurturing hope in recovery.
As we heal from the coronavirus pandemic, now more than ever we're thinking about "hope"; how we need to hold onto it and nurture it, particularly during challenging times such as these. Our amazing client shares her thoughts on what it means to nurture hope in eating disorder recovery...
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Does your eating disorder seem amplified during lockdown?
Often, we talk about the eating disorder having a “voice”. By that we mean the critical thoughts that may pop in and out of your head throughout the day (or around food/mealtimes) that really test your recovery and resilience.
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A commitment to “me”: keeping recovery on track during lockdown
We read this content because we want help and hope – that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we, ourselves, will be able to make it to the end of that tunnel and be safe and, hopefully, happy along that the way. There’s a commitment to doing the “right thing” for our recovery, even when the eating disorder voice is loud and overwhelming (…let’s take a moment to appreciate your patience and resilience during those days).
read moreNurturing Hope – together.
Never more than now have we needed the strength and courage to hold ‘hope’. Hope that we can weather these strange and uncertain times, hope that our loved ones and ourselves can find the least difficult pathway through this period, and the hope that we can hold on to the things that are important in our lives.
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Managing Covid-19 and Your Recovery
If you’re reading this and having a really tough time managing both your eating disorder recovery and quarantine, know that:
1. You are not alone.
2. You are not a “failure” if things are particularly difficult right now.
3. The most important thing is that you’re trying. Remember this.
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Connection is why we’re here.
There is probably no other theme more pertinent. A lot has happened in the last few weeks. In light of the coronavirus pandemic, Orri made the difficult decision to suspend our face-to-face service and move to an online version of our specialist day treatment to preserve the safety of our clients. Whilst this is certainly an adjustment – for our team, clients and their loved ones – we are so grateful for our community.
read moreA note from Kerrie: Good Morning Virtual Orri
Kerrie, our Clinical Director and Co-founder, shares her thoughts on the first day Orri's specialist day treatment moves online.
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Considering eating disorder treatment for your child
You may have stumbled across this blog because it is Eating Disorders Awareness Week, or, you may have come across it whilst undertaking thorough research on behalf of your loved one. Whatever your situation, we’d like to acknowledge the courage and patience it takes to be a parent of someone who is suffering with an eating disorder.
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The importance of supporting the family in eating disorder treatment: Eating Disorders Awareness Week
Why is parent or carer involvement significant when it comes to someone’s eating disorder recovery? Because the illness exists outside of treatment and therapy and can seep into all areas of a person’s life: into social experiences, family life, relationships, work or schooling. As a parent, you likely play some sort of role within these areas of your child’s life.
read moreA note from Kerrie: Eating Disorders Awareness Week
Here at Orri we are marking Eating Disorder Awareness Week with our team and our clients. My reflection for us, and for many who read this - sufferers, carers and professionals – is that every week is Eating Disorder Awareness Week. As eating disorder professionals, we work alongside brave and courageous clients and their families and loved ones...
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How to support a friend with an eating disorder: Eating Disorders Awareness Week
It can be hard to know “what to do” when you see someone you care about going through hardship. Often, we can feel helpless and worried that we’re not doing enough to support them. Here are our suggestions for supporting someone who is suffering with an eating disorder.
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Defeating Anorexia: inspiration from our client
We understand that deciding to recover from an eating disorder is often a daily, deliberate choice – especially in the beginning. If this sounds familiar, this illustration is for you.
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Perfectionism and balancing the nervous system
The internet defines a “perfectionist” as “a person who refuses to accept any standard short of perfection”. Interestingly, a perfectionist trait is listed as one of the symptoms of someone suffering with an eating disorder. But why is this so? And how does the opposite – procrastination - feature alongside this?
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Orri’s Birthday Workshop: You deserve to Nurture Hope in your recovery
Over the past twelve months we’ve had the privilege of sharing in the recovery journeys of many people - whether they entered into our service or decided upon a different path. Throughout our conversations, we noticed how we kept coming back to a recurring theme of “hope”.
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Being brave and taking risks: a common theme in recovery
When we think of “bravery”, often an image of a courageous warrior about to go into battle appears in our heads. But what does it mean when we are brave?
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I Need: our clients’ poem for recovery
Forging a space for creative expression is a huge part of our therapeutic approach at Orri. Here, one of our amazing clients kindly shares a poem she wrote during her time with us.
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When you’ve been unwell for a while…
We asked our Instagram followers to suggest topics they’d like to read about on our blog. A topic that came up at least twice was “how to start recovery when you’ve been unwell for a while”, or, “going from chronic to wellness”. At Orri, we believe that holding onto hope is a crucial aspect of our treatment and approach and that it is possible to recover.
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How to communicate with those we love
Simply put, we all want to feel seen and heard – sufferer and carer alike - but sometimes the “issue” itself can become a seemingly impenetrable wall and honest conversation feels inferior as a means of breaking it down. Regardless, we believe that communication can happen when we truly meet and see one another.
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How to stop your habit of comparing
Today, we’re drawing attention to the topic of comparison because comparison-checking is often a big feature of our clients’ recovery journey. The act of comparing so often brings more bad feelings than good - but it is possible to stop or reframe this experience.
read moreOrri’s Response: Anorexia is the deadliest mental illness. Why is the NHS still not taking it seriously? (Guardian)
NHS figures recently revealed that hospital admissions for eating disorders have risen 37% across all age groups in the last two years. Tom Quinn, Director of External Affairs at Beat, shared his thoughts in a Guardian opinion piece. We wanted to share our response.
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5 things to consider when thinking about body image
Today we’re discussing all things “body image” with our clients - quite a timely topic considering the pervasiveness of diet culture come the start of a new year. Whether someone is suffering with an eating disorder or not, most people struggle with negative body image to varying degrees throughout their life.
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You don’t need a “new me” in this new year
If you’re reading this at the beginning of January and feeling overwhelmed with the prospect of a new year - and any expectations that may come alongside that – we’d like to firstly reassure you that it’s okay to just be you.
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Meet the therapist: Nikki Thornton
Nikki joined the Orri team as an Eating Disorder Associate in April 2019 and now works as our Creative Arts Therapist. We sat her down to learn more about her approach and role within Orri…
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I’m Recovering This Christmas: Attending Social Events
First and foremost, it’s important to highlight that anxieties and fears felt around social events at Christmas are not exclusive to those in recovery from an eating disorder. Rather, a lot of people feel anxiety during these events, particularly when those in attendance are people you haven’t seen in a while.
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I’m Recovering This Christmas: Receiving and Buying Gifts
This is less a blog post about gifts and more a blog post about how you feel - about yourself. Why? Because underneath the experience of receiving gifts is the belief that you are worthy of receiving those gifts.
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I’m Recovering This Christmas: Dealing With Downtime
People in recovery often struggle to find meaning during time that has no productive direction. There’s a fear that overwhelming emotions or critical thoughts may sneak in. If this resonates with your experience, that’s okay. Here are some tools to have in your Christmas toolbox.
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I’m Recovering This Christmas: Handling Mealtimes
As you’re reading this blog, we’re supporting our clients through the festive season and sharing some of the tips below that you might also want to consider as we count down to the ‘big day’. Know that you, too, can do this.
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A New Choice for Recovery: Developing Intensive Day Treatment for people with Eating Disorders
Orri’s Chief Executive, Helen England, joined the team in September of this year. Here, she explains why 2019 was such a significant year for eating disorders in the realm research and campaigning, but how there’s much to be done to improve access, transitions to and quality of eating disorder treatment.
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Meet the Chef: Scott Fitzgerald
Being a Head Chef for an eating disorder clinic is quite a unique role! We sat down with Scott to learn more about his work and how he collaborates with our clients and Dietetics team.
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Orri’s Response: Mental health beds shortage ‘causing distress’ (BBC)
Hospital admissions for eating disorders are on the rise and are frequently many miles from a patient's home. Given the risk of mortality is higher for this group than for other mental health conditions, accessible and effective treatment is vital if the risk of lives being lost or impaired is to be reduced.
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Being curious about the vulnerability we feel when being slow
We discuss the vulnerability that’s often felt in being slow. How, so often, it feels weak or threatening to resist the urge to keep going and allow yourself to pause...
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Navigating relationships with an eating disorder
In this blog, we’re focusing on relationships; what it feels like to navigate relationships whilst you’re in recovery from an eating disorder, and how we work with our clients to help them to develop meaningful relationships and heal from past wounds.
read moreOrri’s Response: Over-65s unable to access some clinics (BBC)
The BBC recently reported on the lack of eating disorder provision for those aged over-65. As providers of Specialist Day Treatment for those suffering with eating disorders, we wanted to share our response to the news article.
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Finding Freedom From the Rules and Routines of an Eating Disorder
In this week’s blog post we’re discussing last week’s treatment programme theme: the rules, rituals and routines that come alongside living with an eating disorder.
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Accept what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be.
Recovery is full of questions: how did I get here? What is going to happen? What if this had happened, or that had happened instead? This weeks’ treatment programme is all about the “Woulds, Shoulds, Coulds” in eating disorder recovery.
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Why you should welcome ambiguity in eating disorder recovery
Change happens everywhere in eating disorder recovery. The illness has an impact on someone’s mind and physical body, meaning that there are many things ‘in flux’ as someone progresses in treatment. Today we discuss why it's important to accept ambiguity in recovery.
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Why boundaries are important in eating disorder recovery
Someone suffering with an eating disorder may find that they have boundaries that are deliberately rigid so to protect the eating disorder. By maintaining rigid boundaries, we keep people at a distance; avoiding intimacy and close relationships and often feeling unwilling to ask for help. So why are healthy boundaries important and how do we develop them?
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Meet the therapist: Kendra
Kendra is an Occupational Therapist and joined the team in September 2019. We sat her down to learn more about her approach and role within Orri.How long have you been a clinician for and what were you doing before Orri? I qualified as an Occupational Therapist in...
Everything you need to know about Mentalization-based Therapy for Eating Disorders
Orri’s Director of Research and Development, Dr Paul Robinson, along with his peers Finn Skarderud and Bente Sommerfeld, have pioneered this developed approach to treating eating disorders (also abbreviated as MBT-E) and we run a weekly group at Orri for our clients. Learn more about it here.
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5 things to keep in mind when in recovery from an eating disorder
The summer months can be a challenging time for people suffering with eating disorders. Calendars can get busier as people take advantage of the sun, and body image concerns may increase as we require a different wardrobe or feel pressured to join in with summer trends. Here are 5 things to keep in mind as we soak up the last few weeks of summer...
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Meet the therapist: Elaine Rutherford
Elaine is Orri's Yoga and Body Awareness Therapist and has been part of the team since day one! We sat her down to learn more about her approach and role within Orri...How long have you been a clinician for and what were you doing before Orri? I have been teaching...
Meet the therapist: Romy Wakil
Romy is a Psychotherapist and joined the team in April 2019. We sat her down to learn more about her approach and role within OrriHow long have you been a clinician for and what were you doing before Orri? I qualified in 2015 and have been practicing in the field of...
Meet the therapist: Katie Kalinowski
Katie is a Clinical Psychologist and joined the team in May 2019. We sat her down to learn more about her approach and role within Orri. How long have you been a clinician for and what were you doing before Orri? I qualified as a Psychologist in 2014 and have been...
Men get eating disorders too.
Visit an eating disorders clinic today and you’re likely to find that one in ten patients is male. Outside of medical settings, however, that number is thought to be far higher. Anecdotal evidence suggests that, of those living with an eating disorder in the UK, three...
Why care in the community can save both money and lives.
Anita’s daughter Lucy started showing the signs of Anorexia Nervosa at 16. She sought help from her GP but there was no specialist treatment option available, only cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and Lucy wasn’t deemed “thin enough” for hospitalization. For men...
Why does specialist day treatment work for eating disorders?
We get asked a lot, what makes Orri different? Beyond our incredibly dedicated team and the tranquility of 14 Hallam Street, it’s our pioneering model for intensive day treatment that differentiates us from other treatment centres. In case you were wondering, here’s...
When should you access support for an eating disorder?
Eating disorders can be extremely isolating; trapping the sufferer in a cycle of shame and guilt associated with their behaviours. We understand how difficult it is to address concerns with a loved one, however, noticing signs and symptoms and having a conversation...
Eating disorders are not about the food.
When someone is suffering from an eating disorder, it’s hard to imagine that it’s not about the food. Here, Orri’s team explain why food is not the problem, rather, it’s a symptom of underlying causes. Follow Orri on Instagram Follow Orri on Twitter Like Orri on...
What does a Family Therapist do?
Karen Carberry is Orri’s Consultant Family Therapist with over twenty years’ experience. Her job is deeply complex and involves leafing through layers of family history, going back at least three generations to identify events and behaviours that may hold the key to...
What does a Dietitian do?
Paula Tait is a Dietitian but, contrary to what you might expect, her job is not just about food. In fact, during sessions with clients, Paula tries to minimise the amount she talks about food.Everyone at Orri eats three meals a day, plus two snacks, which provides...