‘Life Hurts: a doctor’s personal journey through anorexia’ is written by Dr Elizabeth McNaught (Lizzie).
Lizzie is now a medical doctor but she was diagnosed with anorexia at the age of 14, leading to an admission to a general hospital, many months in an inpatient hospital and years in community care.
She has told her story with a vision that this will inspire and encourage others to see that, although life hurts, there is hope for all of us.
Live events for schools
‘Although eating disorders can develop at any age, the risk is highest for young men and women between 13 and 17 years of age.’ National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
‘Secondary school years are a crucial time for turning the risk of eating disorders into resilience against them. The current guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence list fourteen indicators of an eating disorder; only four of which require medical knowledge, the other ten may be spotted first by a teacher, fellow student or parent.’ Dr Elizabeth McNaught
Download brochure and contact Dragonfly Training to book.
Downloadable discussion-starter
DOWNLOAD View: a doctor’s struggle with anorexia
Key questions in this downloadable Teacher’s Guide:
What insights about Body Confidence have you gained that you wish you had known when you were 13 years old?
Do we struggle with Body Confidence partly because, in this world of social media, we compare our ‘behind-the-scenes’ with other’s ‘highlight reel’?
Resources for readers
Lizzie’s book contains many helpful appendices. One of these is her ‘Letter to someone in a doctor’s waiting room.’ Every person’s story is unique and all will have different journeys. But what is consistent across everyone who develops anorexia is that all will have a first visit to the doctor. This can be a really positive experience or a negative one. It can be a crucial turning point, or just another staging post in the continual harm that anorexia does. This letter, republished here in a downloadable format, is designed to help any person at this crucial time.
Many more useful resources are available from Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity.
Videos
See videos featuring Lizzie on the Life Hurts Book Facebook page
For Press and Media.
Please note: We are sticking strictly to the Beat Media Guidelines regarding reporting on eating disorders. Here are images you can use (click on these thumbnails to download high-res versions):
Contact us at:
Ethos Media PO Box 1800 Southampton SO15 9GP office@ethosmedia.org