Hansard

This is, I believe, the fourth year that I have had cause to thank Dennis Robertson for bringing discussion of eating disorders to the Parliament. It is a subject of profound importance, and this week affords the opportunity to reach out to sufferers, challenge stigma and make a clear statement that this is a mental health problem with serious physical and emotional repercussions.

Many members will know someone who has been drawn into the debilitating and isolating world of eating disorders. An eating disorder often starts as a coping mechanism—a means of exerting control over one’s body or of punishing it until it fits society’s predetermined mould. It chips away at a person’s life day by day, and sometimes it envelops them entirely. We must resolutely challenge any preconception that these conditions are shameful or self-indulgent. An eating disorder is not a phase, and those who suffer have a right to be heard, understood and helped.

Doing that starts with prevention: teaching children about healthy body images from an early age and in schools, and helping them to develop a critical response to media and advertising messages. It also means ensuring that educational psychologists in schools and general practitioners in communities have the resources available to identify children who might be at risk of developing negative coping behaviours.

At the same time, information on finding support for recovery must be widely available, helping individuals find the strength to self-refer to their GP. When they do, they must receive appropriate and accessible treatment within the target time of 18 weeks.

I mentioned the need to provide information and support more widely, and the motion rightly notes the excellent work of the Scottish Eating Disorders Interest Group. It is an invaluable resource that both connects communities of interest with professional advice and services and encourages carers and sufferers to share their own experiences to inform research. The SEDIG website allows sufferers, carers and medical professionals to become members and to use resources such as case studies, useful books and links to relevant websites. It also provides details of services in specific areas and offers advice on steps to take when seeking help with referral and recovery.

I very much look forward to meeting some of SEDIG’s members at the eating disorder awareness week 2016 conference, which is entitled “Scotland’s Journey: Quality Eating Disorder Services” and which Dennis Robertson is hosting. The conference will take place on Friday, 26 February, and will for the first time include a specific discussion on males with eating disorders. We must remember that, while eating disorders are illnesses that predominantly affect women, many young boys and men also find themselves trapped in this seemingly endless cycle and are equally afraid to reach out.