Our blog.

Orri is more than a treatment eating disorder centre – we are a recovery community, comprised of people who genuinely care.
Here, we explore how important it is to recover from an eating disorder as a collective, as shared by those who have been there.

Max, Orri’s Service Director, talks us through Bounce Theory (Jones, 2005) – a helpful aid for those with bulimia and binge eating disorder to understand their illness and coping behaviours.

Orri’s Director of Research and Development, Dr Paul Robinson, explores the uniqueness of Orri’s intensive day treatment service for eating disorder, and offers his professional insight into the mental health and eating disorders field.

In Black History Month, we celebrate and recognise the contribution and achievements of people of African or Caribbean heritage, as well as reflect on the impact of racism and negative stereotypes. We asked our Orri team members what Black History Month means to them, and what changes they would like to see in the way we treat and understand eating disorders in the UK.

Eating disorders can be extremely isolating illnesses. Often, people can feel a lot of shame or fear when living with an eating disorder, and this can keep people trapped in their experience.
Feeling lonely during this time can be frightening and we can feel helpless in this experience. Here are some ways to reconnect once more.

The feeling of overwhelm is a disorienting place to find yourself in. When life changes considerably – maybe we’re moved from home or started a new job – it can be hard to find our sense of grounding, to feel our feet on the ground. Here, we’re talking through how to navigate these moments.

Our thoughts for this year’s World Mental Health Day…

Have you asked our specialist Dietetics team a food question based on your recovery? They may have answered it in our latest blog…

Suffering with depression can be lonely and exhausting. Mental difficulty can draw such mental and physical energy that it can be hard to keep motivation up in recovery. Yet despite what depression may tell you, you are not defined by it – it isn’t your whole self…

There is no one way to have ARFID and symptoms will present differently from person to person. If you have been diagnosed with ARFID or feel you may be struggling with some of the symptoms, here are three things below to keep in mind for your recovery…

It’s World Suicide Prevention Day, a globally recognised day that aims to raise awareness of suicide and suicide prevention. This year’s theme is “Creating Hope through Action” – a poignant reminder that where there is hope, there is light in recovery.

This is a question clients often ask us when in eating disorder recovery, and it’s important to note that not one person’s relationship to exercise is the same. What could work for some may not align with another individuals’ eating disorder recovery or needs.
This is why it is crucial to honour your boundaries and pace, and to take your introduction back into exercise one step at a time. Orri’s Sport and Exercise Psychologist, Stacey, offers her specialist advice.

Experiencing symptoms of anxiety and anxiety disorders can be all consuming and extremely frightening, especially if they catch you off guard in your day. To support with these unpredictable moments, we offer our easy and practical tips to help alleviate anxiety – so you can return to a calmer state of peace.

It is possible for an anxious individual to develop an eating disorder, as their way of coping with anxious feelings and experiences their anxiety may bring. If this resonates with your experience, you may be wondering how you can sustain eating disorder recovery when your anxiety feels overwhelming? We explore in this blog.

The Dietetics team are back in our online space and share their latest answers for your food recovery questions.

Feeling anxious? We have a gentle breathing exercise for you, led by Vicky, Orri’s Yoga Therapist.

Despite how it may seem, orthorexia is much more than a concern for – or awareness of – the nutritional content of food. If you are living with orthorexia (or think that you could be), here are 4 things to hold in mind as you navigate your relationship to food.

Orri joins a discussion with leading UK mental health organisations, Wednesday’s Child and Beyond, on how to prepare for university and sustain eating disorder recovery.

Yesterday, NHS England published its quarterly data on the waiting times for children and young people with eating disorders. The numbers are saddening and reflective of how urgent the need is for early intervention and access to specialist care.

Self-love and eating disorder recovery go hand in hand, as when we talk about self-love, we talk about self-acceptance.

Anorexia is a complex mental illness, but it is treatable and recovery is possible. We share four key messages that we want you to hold onto, particularly during any moments of doubt. You can do this.

Yoga is a body-based therapy that we offer, here at Orri. A yoga practise can help our clients reconnect with their bodies again as they navigate eating disorder recovery – which can be a difficult process when they have felt disconnected for a long time. We explore what yoga is and how this discipline can aid eating disorder recovery.

Our online community share their favourite eating disorder recovery affirmations, to bring hope into your recovery today.

For International Day of Yoga, we invite you to participate in a breathing practice with Vicky, Orri’s Yoga Therapist.

Bulimia is often characterised by denial and resistance, so when a person comes to treatment, we have to recognise that they have already taken very important steps in their recovery. If you’re reading this and living with bulimia, here are four things we want you to remember when those days in recovery feel tough…

Eating disorder recovery can be challenging and unpredictable. Week-on-week feelings can change, we may experience unplanned setbacks, but also learn new and important things about ourselves along the way. True healing takes place when you learn to accept what it is, let go of what was and welcome new experiences.
Though, how can we move forward in recovery if we feel “stuck” in unhelpful thinking patterns? What if our thinking style is the obstacle in your journey?

There is no “one way” to have an eating disorder. How they manifest both physically and mentally is unique to each individual, yet stereotypes and myths prevail that create barriers to individuals accessing help. Today we explore why men continue to face unique barriers to eating disorder support.

We explore this more below and identify what Orri does as an organisation to facilitate supportive and compassionate care.

Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is a serious mental illness characterised by periods of bingeing – often in response to emotional distress or triggers – and, for some, compensation for the binge through restrictive eating and exercise.
If you are recovering from BED, here are four things we want you to hold onto…

Did you have a food recovery question for our specialist Dietetics team? We may have answered it in our latest blog.

The new MEED guidance is a welcome commitment to preventing deaths from eating disorders and ensuring that recovery becomes possible for all.

This years’ Mental Health Awareness Week is looking at loneliness – something pertinent to the experience of living with an eating disorder. We’re joining the UK’s biggest conversation on mental health to ensure no one feels alone in their experience of their illness.

Every Friday since the beginning of 2022, we have asked our Orri Instagram community for their food and recovery questions, to put forward to our specialist dietetics team. 

Following last week’s launch of the government’s new legislation to include calorie labelling on menus, we recognise that eating out may come with new anxieties and fears. Will I enjoy eating out in public again? Will I choose what I want to eat or what is the least amount in calories now? Eating out should be fun and this makes it scary and triggering. If these thoughts resonate with you, know that we get it and understand.

The Easter holiday is an opportunity to celebrate the changing of seasons and take the long bank holiday weekend to reconnect with our loved ones. But for those living with an eating disorder, Easter can represent multiple challenges. Here are our tips for the Easter weekend.

Today we’re taking a look at those challenges and sharing our tips for ensuring an eating disorder doesn’t hold you back from enjoying the holiday.

If you are reading this blog in the midst of a relapse, know that your experience is completely valid and that relapse in eating disorder recovery is very normal.
Below, we offer ways on how you can be kind to yourself during these moments, and still honour your recovery.

We are deeply concerned and disappointed about the government initiative to include calorie labelling on menus, which takes effect from today.

Our CEO and Founder, Kerrie, shares her thoughts on this new legislation.

Our Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Sara Morando, is trained in autism assessment and is a specialist on how ASD can occur alongside eating disorders.
For World Autism Day, we sat her down to learn more about the overlap.

Experiencing a relapse can knock your confidence in eating disorder recovery, but it doesn’t have to undo any of the hard work you’ve already done and the progress you’ve made.

In our hyper-connected, fast-paced lives – and after two years of a pandemic infused with uncertainty – you’d be forgiven for perceiving stress as a staple of day-to-day life. Stress Awareness Month aims to raise awareness of the causes and cures for our modern stress epidemic. Here are 5 things to keep in mind about stress.

We understand how confusing and frightening portioning can be in recovery, and how the eating disorder distorts are understanding of what a ‘normal’ portion is. 

That is why Zuzanna, Dietetic Assistant, has set up a Portion Clinic for our clients at Orri – to offer non-judgemental guidance and support. We share the latest below.

Last week was Eating Disorders Awareness Week – a big week for all of us in the sector who are passionate about changing the way we approach eating disorder treatment and recovery.

Ben, Orri’s Chef, brings a touch of Spanish sun to our kitchen with this latest rice dish. If you are a lover of tomatoes and chickpeas, then you will love this classic dinner recipe – it’s simple to make and delicious to eat!

Each week, over on Instagram, we ask our follower community to share their questions for our dietetics team. Here are their most recent answers…

This International Women’s Day is calling on all to #BreakTheBias. Here, members of our team share their experiences of gender bias that they would like to – or have had to – break in their lives and careers.

Orri attended the London Eating Disorders Conference 2022, taking part in the conversation and movement to ‘improving access to care and treatment flexibility in a challenging world’.

Seeking help for an eating disorder can be an anxiety-provoking experience, but it’s the most important step in recovery. GPs are often the first port of call for when someone has concerns. Here’s how to navigate a GP appointment about an eating disorder.

This Eating Disorders Awareness Week, we are supporting our charity partner, Beat, in calling for all UK medical schools and foundation programmes to introduce proper training on eating disorders.

Dr Paul Robinson is Orri’s Director of Research and Development and a leading Psychiatrist in the treatment of eating disorders. Having been part of the team since day one, he shares his response to our ‘outstanding’ CQC rating.

It’s quite something to receive an ‘outstanding’ CQC rating on the day of your 3rd birthday, but here we are! The Care Quality Commission has rated Orri as ‘outstanding’ following its first full inspection! As well as the overall ‘outstanding’ rating, Orri was recognised as ‘outstanding’ in each of the CQC’s five key lines of enquiry – safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

Each week, over on Instagram, we ask our follower community to share their questions for our dietetics team. Here are their most recent answers…

Orri’s Specialist Eating Disorder Dietitian, Beth, explores eating disorder stereotypes and stigma faced by the Black community, and shares recommendations for challenging the white narrative.

Disclosing that we have an eating disorder is a big step. In fact, it’s the first step we take in recovery – the first of the many shifts and changes we’ll make that opens up our world and communicates that we’re ready for something different. But how do we talk about it? Where do we begin? Here are our thoughts…

Our theme for January is Being Intentional. But what does it mean to be intentional in eating disorder recovery, and how do we go about setting intentions?

There’s something very alluring about a new year and the tradition of new year’s resolutions. But the traditional approach tends to lack the compassion, patience and curiosity that many of us nurture throughout recovery from an eating disorder. We invite you to consider an alternative approach and to share your thoughts with us.

Our Eating Disorder & Research Associate, Hannah, shares her thoughts and suggestions for New Years Resolutions.

We’ve been busy in the kitchen! Orri’s Chef, Ben, shares a recipe for Sage, Onion and Cranberry Biscuit Trees in case you want to give it a go at home!

Jacqui, Orri’s Online Clinical Manager, shares this poem for recovery by Julia Fehrenbacher. We hope it inspires you to breathe.

Our latest Guest Blogger shares her fundraising initiative for Beat’s 125 Challenge, spreading the message of “strength, solidarity and hope” to the 125 million eating disorder sufferers in the UK.

Experiencing transitions – or change – can bring about challenges or dilemmas that have the potential to overwhelm us and our ability to cope. Here are our top tips for managing and coping with transitions.

What do you think recovery is? If you’re unsure, this blog is for you.

Eating disorder recovery is full of questions: how did I get here? What is recovery? When will I recover? Here, we discuss the value of having expectations for recovery, but also the importance of staying compassionate and pacing ourselves along the journey.

Our Senior Psychotherapist, Romy, talks to us about sex, intimacy and relationships, and discusses how we support clients with these themes in treatment.

Our latest Guest Blogger, Ileana, shares a roundup of our recent webinar on Sex, Intimacy and Relationships in Eating Disorder Recovery.

Throughout July we’re talking about Sex, Intimacy and Relationships in eating disorder recovery. Here, we look at John Bowlby’s attachment styles, and discuss how each attachment style can show up in sexual relationships.

Boundaries are what we set so that we don’t reach our limit. Here, we talk about the importance of boundaries in relationships, and what people living with eating disorders can do to implement them.

This month we’re talking about Sex, Intimacy and Relationships in Recovery. As social animals, we are all impacted by these things, yet for various reasons the topics are rarely discussed in treatment settings. Here, we look at how eating disorders impact relationships.

On the look-out for a homemade summery snack? Our chef, Ben, shares one of his favourite recipes that he learnt whilst skiing! Not a pro baker? No fear, according to Ben this is impossible to mess up…

For #DietitiansWeek this year, Orri’s senior clinicians came together to discuss how to heal our relationship to food in eating disorder recovery. Here’s a recap of what was discussed.

Binge eating disorder can be extremely distressing and is characterised by eating a larger amount of food than normal in a short space of time. Here, our Senior Dietitian, Paula, shares her tips for breaking the cycle of bingeing.

Summer is finally here, and with the weather warming up, it’s likely you’ll find yourself at some sort of picnic or BBQ. Whatever the setting, mealtimes in recovery can be hard. Here are our tips for navigating summer socials.

The myth that “men don’t get eating disorders” is harmful and outdated. Here are our thoughts for Men’s Health Week.

June is Pride Month. Many LGBTQ+ individuals face unique challenges that put them at greater risk of developing an eating disorder.

We know just how daunting it can be to consider treatment for an eating disorder. Our CEO and founder, Kerrie, shares all you need to know about food and recovery at Orri. Together, we take things step by step and at your pace.

Throughout the month of June we’re talking about food and recovery. Today we’re talking about bulimia, and specifically about how to break out of the cycle of bingeing and purging that many find themselves in.

Do you have 9 minutes to spare? Our Yoga and Body Awareness Therapist, Pippa, guides us through a mindful practice and shares how mindfulness can support eating disorder recovery.

People often come to the practice of mindfulness in response to the realisation that they may not be engaging fully in the present, or having experienced their emotions as overwhelming and sudden. You may be wondering, where do I start?

Throughout the month of May we’re reflecting on the use of mindfulness as a tool for eating disorder recovery. Here are 3 ways we use mindfulness in treatment.

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme is #ConnectWithNature. Here are our thoughts…

The path of recovery asks us to become aware of our internal experience; our thoughts, our beliefs, our emotions and how these inform our actions, behaviours and relationships.

MANTRA stands for the Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adults and is one of the modalities we use at Orri to support our clients with their eating disorder recovery. Click here for a deep-dive into the approach.

Following the tragic and untimely death of Nikki Grahame, Kerrie Jones, CEO & Founder, spoke with Naga Munchetty from BBC Radio 5 Live about the impact of lockdown on eating disorders, and how to support loved ones who are struggling.

No one should have to recover from their eating disorder alone. As we prepare the building for Monday’s reopening, we’ll be shining a light on how we have been – and always will be – #RecoveringTogether.

A client shares her heart-warming experience of Orri’s online treatment programme, “The approach everyone takes is so different to any other treatment I have had before.”

It can be difficult to spot a harmful relationship to exercise as our culture celebrates activities that are perceived to be contributing to our health and wellbeing. If we’re unable to spot the intention beneath the activity, as well as how it may be negatively impacting areas of a person’s life, important opportunities for intervention can be missed.