My daughter was battling with anorexia and we had no one to turn to....

A little over three years ago, my youngest daughter was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is complex and difficult to treat, it has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. It is a very misunderstood illness, the myths and secrecy that surround it make treating and finding advice extremely difficult.

The impact that this illness had on my daughter and our family is indescribable. The anorexia was destructive, manipulative and wanted my daughter to die. The anorexia came known to our family as parasite. My daughter was not in control, parasite was. Parasite was sucking the life from my daughter and making her push everyone that loved her away. Parasite was lying to my daughter and whispering lies to her that made her behave and act like a totally different person. Parasite told my daughter that she was her only friend and that she would help my daughter be happy. Parasite tried to take my beautiful daughter away from her very loving family.

We were lost and did not know which way to turn. There was no specialist or psychiatric team that could offer us assistance or support where we lived. We were told to refeed and protect our daughter, but no one could tell us how to do this. We needed to save her from the mental illness that was threatening her very existence but were struggling to find the right way to do it.

So.....I started searching the web and that's when I found the Eating Disorder Association of NZ (EDANZ). I left a voicemail message and a wonderful lady (you know who you are!) called me back. I can not say how much of a relief it was to hear from someone who knew what we were going through. We talked for a long time and she gave me important (I think life saving) advice. With her guidance and wise words, I suddenly knew what I had to do and I knew that there was hope. She called me back again at a later date to see if I needed more support or just a chat to someone who truly understood.

Whilst we were battling to fight for our daughter, the support and empathy that I received from EDANZ was amazing. EDANZ provided hope, information, support and resources that I could not find anywhere else in New Zealand. They were imperative in supporting us during my daughter’s journey to recovery.

EDANZ is a registered charity run by volunteers, who all have personal experience in the process of recovery from an eating disorder – either as parents, caregivers or recovered patients. Their focus is on improving the outcomes for people with eating disorders and their families. Alongside their education and support work, they also advocate for social and governmental change. EDANZ is the only organisation of their kind in New Zealand and they rely solely on donations and grants.