Zoe is supporting the ‘Dump the Scales’ protest calling for urgent change (Image: Zoe Hazel)
A woman who has suffered with binge-eating disorder (BED) for more than two decades says she was left “screaming into the void” without treatment. BED involves regularly eating a lot of food over a short period of time until you are uncomfortably full. The NHS describes it as a “serious mental health condition” and urges anyone who may have it to see a GP as soon as possible.
But when Zoe Hazel, 35, was finally diagnosed in 2019, she was told no local service could help her. She is sharing her story ahead of a protest by Dump the Scales, a campaign group urging the Government to confront a “deadly systemic failure” in eating disorder care. Zoe, of Thanet, Kent, said: “I feel like I have been banging my head against the wall, screaming into the void. I need help.
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“I’m at a body weight where it’s dangerous. I’m at such a high risk for so many health issues. But every time I’ve tried to get help, I’ve had a door shut in my face.
“I’ve been to Slimming World, done fad diets, bought things off the internet — patches, pills and everything that’s supposed to help you. Nothing has worked. It’s a psychological issue, it’s a mental health problem, and no one has given me mental health support.”
Around the age of 11, Zoe found that eating helped her feel in control of her life. She started “secret eating” and spending her pocket money on food to binge. However, she was a healthy weight and active, so “nobody was aware”.
Describing the compulsion to binge, Zoe said: “It just completely takes you over. You can’t think, you can’t process, you can’t rationalise.
“There’s so much food noise that you just sort of go, ‘I can’t do anything until I do this’. It’s almost a trance, and when you’re consuming the food, you’re dissociating, you’re not aware of it.
“It’s like you become this empty hole and you just have to consume until something switches in your brain and goes, ‘OK, we’re done now’. Then you’re washed over with this shame and hatred.”
Zoe was diagnosed with BED after seeking help in her mid-20s. But she was told that NHS eating disorder services in her area focused on anorexia and only accepted people with a low BMI.
When she sought help again last year, Zoe found this had changed, but she was turned away due to having recently started a new medication. She has received treatment for bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder, but not for the eating disorder.
Zoe said: “I think the NHS is an absolutely wonderful thing and we’d be lost without it. The way that eating disorder services are set up is what’s failing the people, not the NHS itself.
“There needs to be a big change. Everybody can have an eating disorder, whatever their size, gender, culture, race. When we look at who deserves the treatment or who’s eligible based on BMI alone, we’re failing people.”
Dump the Scales was founded by campaigner Hope Virgo, who has lived with anorexia, to challenge misconceptions about eating disorders and the use of weight thresholds to limit treatment.
Zoe fears she is at risk of serious health problems without treatment (Image: Zoe Hazel)
The campaign has warned that some people with eating disorders are told they are “not ill enough” for treatment or that their conditions are too complex to be helped by local services. Others spend months or even years on waiting lists, leaving families to manage life-threatening illnesses alone.
Hundreds of people are expected to join a march on Saturday starting at London’s Trafalgar Square. Dump the Scales is calling for a national inquiry, guaranteed access to specialist treatment and investment in early intervention.
Ms Virgo said: “Eating disorders must be treated as the public health emergency they are. No one is untreatable — but right now, too many people are being denied the chance to recover.”
Bethany Francois, a dietitian specialising in eating disorders, said many people she works with are falling through the cracks in provision.
She added: “I’m seeing individuals who don’t meet NHS thresholds, or who are stuck on long waiting lists, or discharged without proper support. By the time they access the right care, their illness is often far more entrenched.”
An NHS spokesperson said: “Improving care for people with eating disorders is a priority for the NHS which is why we have issued guidance to all local health systems earlier this year offering training to staff including GPs and school nurses on how to spot the signs of eating disorders so that people can get specialist help faster.
“This guidance also reiterated that BMI should never be the sole measure for access to eating disorder services, and that clinical decisions should be made based on patient need and national guidance.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “For too long, people with eating disorders have not been getting the support they deserve.
“That’s why we are working with NHS England to strengthen community-based eating disorder services and improve outcomes and recovery for patients of all ages.
“Through our 10 Year Health Plan, we are also transforming mental health services. Over 8,000 extra mental health workers have been recruited since July 2024, and we’re reaching nearly a million more children by expanding mental health support teams in schools.”
- If you’re worried about your own or someone else’s health, you can contact Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity, on 0808 801 0677 or beateatingdisorders.org.uk
