Last week, parents and carers of NHEHS students were invited to our webinar featuring Hope Virgo, award-winning mental health campaigner and founder of #DumpTheScales. Hope spoke on the topic of “Not All Eating Disorders Are Visible” sharing her own personal insights as well as some fantastic practical advice.

The webinar began by considering “How would you spot the signs of someone with an eating disorder?” With rising numbers across the UK of pupils reporting an increase in stress, anxiety and panic attacks, as well as a rise in depression, self-harm and eating disorders; the issue is becoming more prevalent. And yet, “mental illnesses have no one look,” as shown by Hope’s images of a number of people in the public eye who have shared their own mental health issues to highlight how it can affect anyone at any stage in their lives. 

According to Hope, Covid-19 brought an already broken system to its knees, with additional pressures during lockdowns from stockpiling, the focus on exercise, Social Media, the Government’s obesity strategy, video calls, uncertainty and isolation. These all exacerbated existing pressures pre-Covid including those brought on by exams, the modern tech world, wellness influencers, identity concerns and from modern societal ideals.

Hope shared a snapshot of her own personal story leading to her time in hospital to where she is at now and the things that keep her well – physical movement, knowing her triggers, talking, therapy, making meal times fun and enjoyable and being mindful of social media usage. 

Hope then moved on to how to support a loved one with an eating disorder, or mental illness and how to navigate through this. According to Hope there are three key factors to look out for: behaviours, obsession, and functionality.

Hope then shared some excellent tips to help prevent mental illness but which will also help those who are struggling in general:

Normalise conversations around mental health.

Acknowledge that is fine to get frustrated and if this happens it is OK to start again tomorrow.

Remind us that you know the issue isn’t about weight.

Avoid Diet Chat.

Encourage physical activity. 

Come up with your own protocol if they are struggling (eg using emojis on Whatsapp or messaging).

I would like to thank Hope for an insightful and informative webinar and would definitely recommend her books for any other advice on the topic. We look forward to having Hope come in to NHEHS again to talk to our students directly in their PSHCEE sessions soon.