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Covid-19: Teen with anorexia 'overwhelmed' in lockdown

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Annette said her daughter (not pictured) would "physically shake" when offered a sandwich

A teenager diagnosed with anorexia during the first coronavirus lockdown said she had been "alone, bored and overwhelmed with the school work".

Harriet, 14, from Bedfordshire, was so malnourished she risked having a heart attack and is now receiving treatment.

Specialist eating disorder clinician Sarah Fuller said Covid-19 had been a "perfect storm for eating disorders".

An NHS spokesman said: "The pandemic has turned lives upside down and hit young people particularly hard."

In Bedfordshire, referrals of children with eating disorders to the NHS numbered 90 in 2019, but that increased to 220 in 2020.

Speaking as part of BBC Local Radio's Happy Heads campaign about children's mental health in the pandemic, Harriet's mother, Annette, said: "Maybe if she'd have had that face-to-face contact she wouldn't have been as driven to lose weight."

Harriet said: "I felt alone, bored and overwhelmed with the school work.

"I used my spare time to pick myself apart negatively."

'Failed as a parent'

Annette said she would sit for an hour waiting for her daughter to eat.

"I would give her a sandwich and she would pick it up, physically shake and then put it down," she said.

Annette said that even as Harriet's weight dropped she would say she felt fat.

At Christmas, the schoolgirl started having chest pains and was told she was at risk of a heart attack.

A bed was found for her in a specialist unit in Greater Manchester, where she is currently being treated.

"You just feel like you've failed as a parent," Annette said. "At her angriest she didn't want help."

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Happy Heads, a BBC Local Radio campaign

  • Happy Heads aims to raise awareness about the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on children's mental health
  • Recent data published by NHS Digital shows a steady growth in the number of children experiencing mental health problems
  • BBC Local Radio stations want to help children, parents and carers by promoting volunteering and sharing links to charities and organisations
  • They will share stories of hope across BBC Local Radio and the BBC website and help those in need of support
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Ms Fuller, who works for East London NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental health services in Bedfordshire, said: "Covid has been a perfect storm for eating disorders.

"Everyone's routine was turned upside down overnight."

She said a lack of social contact, coupled with a focus on exercise and healthy eating, had made young people "feel out of control".

An NHS spokesman said: "While a record high number of young people are getting care for eating disorders, it is sadly a likely fact of the pandemic's impact that more young people will need to seek out support for mental ill-health."

If you have been affected by these stories or issues they raise - or have concern for your or another person's mental health and wellbeing - BBC Action Line has contacts for many organisations that can help, including on issues such as eating disorders.

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