On the first episode of Talking Taboos with Daye, we tackle anorexia and the myths and misconceptions that surround eating disorders. While the numbers around the prevalence of eating disorders remain vague, it is estimated that between 1.4 to 2.3m people here in the U.K. suffer from some form of disordered eating. Moreover, anorexia has the highest death rate of any psychiatric illness. 

To better understand this taboo topic from a first-hand perspective, host Emma-Louise is joined by eating disorder activist, author and public speaker, Hope Virgo.

After battling with anorexia for most of her teenage years, at one point even ending up in hospital, Hope eventually recovered and went on to write a book about her experience - Stand Tall Little Girl - published in 2017. 

Determined to use her experience to fight for change in how society sees and treats eating disorders, she launched a campaign and petition the following year #DumpTheScales which called on the government to review eating disorder guidance and introduce training for GPs. She’s recently updated this campaign via the hashtag #LetsTalkEDs, which we’ll discuss in the episode.

To shed some expert insight on the topic, Emma-Louise is also joined by Dr Natalie Kanakam,

a clinical psychologist at the Maudsley - a psychiatric hospital in south London, where she specialises in eating disorders.