EATING DISORDERS SUPPORT SERVICE SCOTLAND

'I'm not feeling so good and I'd like to talk to you about it' EATING DISORDERS AWARENESS WEEK 2026 It's Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2026 #edaw26 this week and it's a time to not only reflect on the experiences of people with eating disorders and how treatment and support has changed over the past 24 years I have been involved with eating disorders: but it's also a time to raise awareness in our communities, have conversations with each other and reach out to those who are facing a difficult time with their relationship with food, eating, and their bodies. We are busy working on a new project at the moment which we hope to launch at the end of the year. We're also re-branding and changing our websites; so, unfortunately, this EDAW26, we haven't had the time and space to do our usual things to mark the week. However, we're still having conversations this week, talking about eating disorders and supporting many people across the UK with eating disorders, disordered eating and body im

URGE SURFING STRATEGY One of the things that clients might try out in therapy, especially if they are experiencing binge eating, emotional eating, exercise compulsions or compulsions related to body image is Urge Surfing. Urge surfing can be used for many things including distress intolerance; self-harm; addictions and binge-eating, emotional eating, exercise compulsions, compulsions related to body image , cravings and over-eating. Often, when a craving or urge or compulsion for food/to eat/to check/to exercise hits us, we think we only have 2 options available to us: 1. We give into the urge/craving/compulsions and/or; 2. We resist. Meditation and mindfulness opens the door to a third option called 'urge surfing'. See the poster below for some brief 'facts' on 'urge surfing'. Why not try this for yourself and see if it's something th at might help alleviate the distress of cravings and urges, even a little. It can help you claw control back too, rather than food, eating, exercise and

Food and eating ruining your life? Fed up with the heaviness and disruption that your relationship with food, eating (and your body) causes you? Constantly thinking about what to eat, what not to eat, how to skip meals, how to get out of eating out, how to get more exercise in, how to fool the sales, how to get rid of food, how to [complete your sentence].... It's never ending, isn't it? Food, eating, weight, exercise and/or body image can be a source of torment for many and it can really take it's toll on our mental and emotional health, not to mention our social life, physical health, education, school, hopes, dreams and more. So, if you've ever wondered if you have a helpful or difficult relationship with food and eating, then talk to us. Our director has over 24 years of experience in eating disorders and our other therapists and dietitians also have many years of experience. We have supported 1000s of people all over the UK and beyond via individual support, group support, awarene

This is just a heads-up about out upcoming Festive Break.

Focus on..... Binge Eating Disorder (BED) Binge Eating Disorder or BED is often characterised by someone consuming very large amounts of food over short period of time, even if they are not hungry. Although, we often see another form of binge eating that is characterised by an almost constant 'grazing' of food, which may amount to a large volume of food over time. BED is almost 2x as common in women than in men, although gender differences are less pronounced than in Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. BED has been found is all cultures and ethnicities. BED was formally classified in 2014 as distinct Eating Disorder and now has formal classification in DSM-5. Keeping in mind that everyone experiencing BED is different and BED may present differently (we are all different and unique, after all!), some of the signs and symptoms of BED include: * Feeling out-of-control when eating during a binge episode. * Often hiding food (before it has been eaten or hiding empty packets after i has b

To the part of you that quietly struggles with body image..... The part of you that flinches at your reflection. That compares, critiques, and sometimes feels like your worth is measured in inches, pounds, or likes. You’ve learned to smile through it, to joke about it, to pretend it doesn’t sting when clothes don’t fit or when someone else’s body seems to get all the praise. You’ve tried to silence that voice—the one that whispers “not enough.” But it’s persistent. It shows up in dressing rooms, in photos, in moments when you just want to feel free in your own skin. And we want you to know: that voice isn’t the truth. It’s a story you’ve been told, maybe for years. A story shaped by culture, media, maybe even people you trusted. But stories can be rewritten. That’s where therapy and counselling come in. Not to fix you—because you’re not broken. But to help you untangle the knots of shame and self-criticism. To give space to the pain, the pressure, the perfectionism. To help you reconne