Anorexia: A Patient’s Story

As a teenager, journalist Hadley Freeman spent over two and half years in hospital being treated for anorexia. In this interview, she gives a brutally honest account of her experience and describes how she was finally able to recover from what is one of the most puzzling psychiatric diseases.

She has just published a book about her illness called: Good Girls: A Story and Study of Anorexia, and during her research for it, also spoke to many experts and patients. Anorexia remains an incredibly difficult disease to treat with the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric condition - of around 1/3.

Perhaps most revealing of all, Hadley discusses the thought processes that an anorexic patient can go through which to an outsider or worried parent can seem so illogical. And she explains the advice she would give to a parent today, who has a child with anorexia.

Hadley Freeman is a staff writer at The Sunday Times. Prior to that she worked at The Guardian and her articles have appeared in many other publications too.

Good Girls: A Story and Study of Anorexia by Hadley Freeman is published by 4th Estate

For anyone with an eating disorder or supporting someone with an eating disorder, the charity Beat Eating Disorders offers help and support:

https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/get-information-and-support/get-help-for-myself/i-need-support-now/helplines/

The host of the podcast, Liz Tucker is an award winning medical journalist and former BBC producer and director.  You can follow Liz on Twitter at https://twitter.com/lizctucker and read her Substack newsletter about the podcast at https://liztucker.substack.com

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