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Sport & Eating Disorders

As an ex-GB athlete and mental health practitioner who has achieved recovery from an eating disorder, I believe I am well qualified to offer advice to coaches, parents, and other athletes with eating disorders. There is strong and consistent evidence that eating disorders are prevalent in sport and especially in endurance sports such as running, swimming, cross-country skiing, and cycling. Weight-category sports (eg, wrestling, boxing, judo, martial arts and jockeys) and aesthetic sports (eg, rhythmic gymnastics, dance, figure skating, and high board diving) also attract at-risk individuals. These illnesses are not only common but lead to significant physical and psychological morbidity and impaired performance.

Sports organisations, and by extension the professionals whose job it is to help and support athletes, have important roles in dealing with these conditions. Preventative practices can be adopted if there is an understanding of how the sports environment contributes to the development of eating disorders. RED-S stands for Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport and is explained more in my podcast (Episode 56).

Support for Athletes

Compulsive exercise typically refers to physical activity that is associated with disordered eating attitudes and behaviours, and describes a condition characterised by an inability or unwillingness to cut down or stop exercising even though it is detrimental to health. It can lead to amenorrhoea (menstrual dysfunction), osteoporosis (low bone density), depression, heart problems, dehydration, and damage to joints and tendons.

The cognitive view of the maintenance of compulsive exercise stresses that there is more to an individual’s exercise problem than just over-exercising for weight and shape reasons. Dysfunctional affect regulation, extreme concerns about the perceived negative consequences of stopping or reducing exercise, and rigid/inflexible exercise behaviour are all implicated in perpetuating the vicious cycle of compulsive exercise.

Driven Exercise

Driven exercise is often central to how eating disorders take hold and retain their grip: in many cases, it compromises treatment, contributes to relapse, and is part of the emotional and cognitive fabric of the disorder. Interventions that promote the safe return to exercise are associated with a greater reduction in eating disorder symptoms and better long-term treatment outcomes.
The recovery process involves establishing a healthy relationship with movement, activity, and our bodies. I assess the physiological and psychological risks and help with challenging the destructive mindset so that exercise is motivated from a balanced place of love, fun, and enjoyment rather than punishment.

Find Out More

Supervision

Are you a qualified or student counsellor/psychotherapist looking for online or face-to-face supervision?  If so, then maybe I can help you and support your needs.

Training & Workshops

For those working in Counselling, Psychotherapy, Mental Health, and Social care I provide workshops focused on working with disordered eating.

Media

Allie has delivered presentations, written articles for specialist publications and been interviewed for podcasts on the subject of eating disorders.

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Let’s Connect

Join me on social media for updates and future workshop dates, or submit your email address and receive an email with occasional updates.

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