I am fundraising for S3 which is a specialist inpatient eating disorder unit, part of the CPFT. S3 is a specialist inpatient unit for eating disorders, for over 18, both men and women. Head to Toe is the charity for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT).

This year will be 10 years since I was discharged from S3!

Thank you for clicking on my page.

Hi, I am Ruth and here is my story-

At the age of 21, in February 2014, I was diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa. I was in my last year of university- 1 semester away from graduating, I had to take a year and a half off my studies.

Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder, from medical complications associated with the illness as well as suicide (taken from Beat website). Unfortunately, I have known 2 lovely ladies who have died as a result of anorexia. Anorexia is a serious mental health illness.

For me, controlling my food was a way of controlling my life. I also was diagnosed with depression. I hid food, spat food out into napkins or the bin secretly, felt dizzy, fixated over food, had no energy, could not read or watch tv, not able to concentrate or do much, exercised in secret, I was so cold all the time. My bloods were declining, I was worried I would not wake up in the morning- but unable to change due to my fear of food, eating, any thought of gaining weight would cause me to melt down. Unfortunately, this is the reality of having an eating disorder and it is not glamorous.

6 weeks (approximately) after my diagnosis, I admitted myself into S3, not knowing that the placement had been in the works for several weeks, as if I had not admitted myself, it is likely I would have been sectioned.

My time on S3 consisted of the following treatment-

- re-feeding (gaining weight)

- occupational therapy (sandwich making, buying food and eating in public, meals out, creating a recovery plan, this was when I did my nail course)

- physiotherapy (to gain a healthy relationship with exercise)

-body image therapy

- cognitive analytical therapy (completed with a psychologist)

- regular meeting with my psychiatrist to discuss treatment/goals/plans/medication

- family therapy (completed with my key nurse and psychologist)

- regular meeting with my key nurse- Carol

- I had home leave which began with 1 day and increased.

All of This is on top of the daily support from the support workers and nurses to help deal with the struggles of eating,gaining weight, wanting to exercise.

I honestly cannot remember the first 3 months of my stay- because my brain lacked the nutrients it needed to function. I do remember small parts- such as being so upset at the small difference in calories from a plain muller rice to a strawberry muller rice, or being caught exercising in the toilet at night.

In November 2014, after 7 and a half months, I was discharged from S3. I was entering the real world, coming from the unit where I had so much support and help. To this day, I am so grateful at the patience and kindness of the staff that helped me. But also have to thank the girls who were in the unit at the same time as me.

I still struggle daily with my body image, worries of food/eating, controlling food, exercising. It has got easier as my life has got bigger and the ED has got smaller. However, it continues to be a daily battle and choice. However, I now work as an Occupational Therapist which was inspired by my own OT.

So, as it is 10 years since I was discharged, I am going to be running the Royal Parks Half marathon for the unit. All the money will go directly to S3. For them to decide how the money is spent- the days can be long so it’s important to have things to do!

I have a ballot place so I have no set amount to raise, however last time I raised £600 so let’s beat that!

Thank you for taking the time to read my page and support me.

Love Ruth xx