Rewriteyourstory

Our Work with The Molly McLaren Foundation A message from our founder Alan Heyes welcoming you to Mollyfest 2022 Thank you for visiting this webpage! I am delighted to welcome you all, both to this page and to Mollyfest 2022.  You may have found this page by using the QR code on the card available at the event. This is my third Mollyfest and I am delighted to be here. The Molly McLaren foundation has supported Rewrite Your Story and Therapy Partners by working in Partnership to offer life changing clinical support, both for young people and their families who [...]

Eating Disorders Podcast In today's episode, Joe and Mark discuss eating disorders. They interview guest Alan Heyes who explains the causes, body image and the impact it can have on mental health. Visit Apple Podcast

Stay active Movement is important... particularly since we can’t go out, apart from our one episode of exercise. Doing quick bursts of exercise throughout the day will help, try dancing when you are cleaning the house or while waiting for the kettle to boil! Routine, exercise, and going outside if you have a garden if not try one of the online exercise classes. Get dressed and ready for work. This may initially appear absolutely pointless, but we often associate feelings with what normal activity for example pyjamas equal relaxed and work clothes equate to being productive, and we can change [...]

Talking about my eating disorder publicly has really opened my eyes to how many people struggle with similar experiences. My eating disorder started when I went to University: the massive change, moving from a small country village to a large city, leaving my family behind. Suddenly everything was different and I desperately wanted to fit in. In the past I’d been bullied at school, I was terrified it might happen again. They say that an eating disorder develops more often in someone with a perfectionist nature and I believe this was the case for me. In the past, I’d always [...]

There are different types of eating disorders that are categorized by their symptoms and health affects. Anorexia Nervosa Symptoms include: Over evaluation of shape and weight and control Judging self-worth largely and even exclusively in terms of shape and weight and the ability to control Active maintenance of low body weight – less than 85% of that expected or a body mass index of 17.5 or below Inadequate food intake Fear of weight gain Obsession over weight and food Inability to understand the severity of the situation Bulimia Nervosa Symptoms include: Over evaluation of shape and weight Recurrent binge eating [...]

I have been in recovery for 5 years now. A series of events occurred in my life, which were out of my personal control. The death of my Father pushed me over the edge and triggered my need to control something. In my case, I coped by controlling the one thing I could, my weight and what I ate. At the age of 18, I was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. For me, my eating disorder wasn’t about being slim and fitting into what today’s ‘ideal’ is, the notion that thin is beautiful. Instead it gave me a focus, a form [...]

In the UK, 400,000 people live with type 1 diabetes, meanwhile Canadian research suggests as many as 60% of female type 1 sufferers have experienced an eating disorder by age 25. You don’t get a day off when you’ve got diabetes. Every day is about blood sugar levels, needles and numbers. When you’ve got diabetes and an eating disorder, well, that’s a lot of numbers dictating your life, from calorie counting to watching the scales. Read more about diabulimia and Becky’s story here You can also watch the BBC Three Documentary Diabulimia: The World’s Most Dangerous Eating Disorder [...]