I’m running the GNR this year  for a little known charity - Beat.

Eating disorders are a mental illness. You’d be surprised how many people have been touched by an eating disorder but like all mental illnesses it has a stigma. No one wants to talk about it, not the person affected, at the beginning  they won’t believe they have an issue, nor the family supporting as they feel they’ve failed or fear others will judge and think they’ve failed.

Yet eating disorders are very dangerous and little understood and we should talk more about them so parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, colleagues, schools, unis and workplaces  can spot them before they take a hold of people. 

For example here’s some myths to bust, eating disorders:

• take many shapes, for some it’s “eating clean or healthy” gone too far, for others it’s excessive exercise, for some it’s binges, for others it’s all of the above;
  
• are complex, it’s not just a case of “eat up”, “don’t eat”;
• are not just for girls, boys can have them too;
• Are not just for teenagers,they can happen at any age;
• Are not just for the super skinny;
• are not just about control, nor just a phase;
• can be genetic (and no that’s not learnt behaviour!).  
• are massively on the rise since the pandemic. 

However, for something so complex our doctors in the UK are given just 2 hours of medical training.  2 hours training for a mental health disease that has the highest morbidity rate. 

Beat is trying to raise awareness and increase training for doctors. So I’m going to try and run/crawl the Great North Run 2022 in under 2 hours, just to raise awareness.  It’ll take me a lot more than 2 hours to try and complete this race in under 2 hours, trust me🤣!

I have two asks:-

1. if you can spare a little,  please do sponsor me, I’m running for Beat, a fantastic charity with great resources not just for those suffering from eating disorders but also their grandparents, parents, friends and carers  around them; and 

2. take a look around Beat’s website. You’ll definitely learn something😊

Now for the boring but important bit donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Be kind always ❤️❤️

Thanks

Lou

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