Ep 28: Eating disorders and disabilities with Sophia Purcell

Sophia Purcell has suffered with anorexia nervosa since her late teens, but wasn’t officially diagnosed until the summer of 2017, more than a decade into the eating disorder. She also has a mild form of Cerebral Palsy, a congenital condition that affects movement, coordination, balance and muscle strength, flexibility and tone.

At present, there’s not much research into the relationship between eating disorders and disabilities. As someone with first-hand experience of both, she wants to do whatever she can to raise awareness, encourage others to seek support, and hopefully make treatment more inclusive and accessible.

We discuss-

- How having Cerebal Palsy affected her self-esteem growing up and contributed to the development of an eating disorder

- Sophia's experience in an inpatient unit and how it effected her cerebral palsy

- Things she wished she had known before going into treatment for her eating disorder

- Opinions on how individuals with a co-existing physical condition or emotional needs can advocate for themselves when undergoing treatment

- How treatment models could become more inclusive for people with additional needs and physical conditions

Connect with Rachel.

Dr Rachel Evans is a psychologist, hypnotherapist and eating disorder survivor. She brings together academic knowledge and theories, therapeutic skills and personal experience for a unique perspective on eating disorder recovery. Rachel helps ambitious women to stop restricting, bingeing and purging and to feel comfortable in their body by rebalancing physiology, rewiring the mind and reclaiming identity & self-trust.

https://eatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/rachel.evans.phd/

https://www.facebook.com/rachel.evans.phd

Connect with Sophia.

Sophia is a copywriter and journalist based in Brighton on the south coast of England. She has a mild form of cerebral palsy (CP) and has suffered with anorexia nervosa for almost 12 years. She is now in active recovery and passionate about making eating disorder treatment more accessible.

https://pinksparklybeads.wordpress.com/

https://www.therecoveryclub.org/anorexia-and-disability