http://blogs.independent.co.uk| Blogs from the Independent newspaper - news, views and features from the world's most free-thinking newspaper| Thu, 20 Jun 2013 10:40:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2| en hourly 1 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/09/19/beating-anorexia-allowed-to-exercise-my-way-to-a-body-im-proud-of/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/09/19/beating-anorexia-allowed-to-exercise-my-way-to-a-body-im-proud-of/#comments Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:28:06 +0000 Ilona Burton http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=28510 It sounds dramatic but it wasn’t enough to scare me. It never is when you’re anorexic; you’re invincible, the doctors just don’t know it. ]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/09/19/beating-anorexia-allowed-to-exercise-my-way-to-a-body-im-proud-of/feed/ 10 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/31/the-staggering-cost-of-eating-disorders-in-england/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/31/the-staggering-cost-of-eating-disorders-in-england/#comments Tue, 31 Jul 2012 09:25:31 +0000 Ilona Burton http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=26947 If ever there was a reason to emphasise the desperate need for early intervention, greater awareness and compulsory education on the subject of eating disorders, this is it.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/31/the-staggering-cost-of-eating-disorders-in-england/feed/ 19 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/24/channel-4-goes-mad-and-maddens/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/24/channel-4-goes-mad-and-maddens/#comments Tue, 24 Jul 2012 10:32:17 +0000 Ilona Burton http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=26729 Channel 4’s Mental Health season, the controversially titled ‘4 Goes Mad’ kicked off last night with ‘Ruby Wax’s Mad Confessions’.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/24/channel-4-goes-mad-and-maddens/feed/ 10 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/09/drunkorexia-a-stupid-name-but-a-serious-problem/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/09/drunkorexia-a-stupid-name-but-a-serious-problem/#comments Mon, 09 Jul 2012 09:00:41 +0000 Ilona Burton http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=26000 “Eatin’s Cheatin’” echoes around the office on a Friday afternoon as women pick over their naked salads and extra extra light low fat Philly on Ryvita. The preparations for ‘Rosé o’clock’ are well under way. They’ll grumble their way through the afternoon and suppress the urge to be ‘naughty’ whenever anyone offers a biscuit, sweet or chocolate.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/07/09/drunkorexia-a-stupid-name-but-a-serious-problem/feed/ 40 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/21/force-feeding-there-was-a-time-when-i-would-rather-die-than-eat-what-was-on-the-plate-in-front-of-me/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/21/force-feeding-there-was-a-time-when-i-would-rather-die-than-eat-what-was-on-the-plate-in-front-of-me/#comments Thu, 21 Jun 2012 11:19:58 +0000 Ilona Burton http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=25538 There was a time when I would rather die than live with the guilt that came after drinking the nutrition substitute that replaced the contents of that plate.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/21/force-feeding-there-was-a-time-when-i-would-rather-die-than-eat-what-was-on-the-plate-in-front-of-me/feed/ 26 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/15/we-have-physical-health-and-we-have-mental-health-its-time-we-saw-them-as-equal/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/15/we-have-physical-health-and-we-have-mental-health-its-time-we-saw-them-as-equal/#comments Fri, 15 Jun 2012 10:06:25 +0000 Ilona Burton http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=25315 Members of parliament gathered in the House of Commons today to discuss something which has, for far too many years, been sidelined, overlooked and if acknowledged at all, treated with a certain level of complacency; mental health.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/06/15/we-have-physical-health-and-we-have-mental-health-its-time-we-saw-them-as-equal/feed/ 125 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/19/growing-out-of-anorexia/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/19/growing-out-of-anorexia/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 23:00:30 +0000 Ilona Burton http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=24357 The biggest mistake I ever made was making a connection between achievement and being underweight. Two days ago, I celebrated my 26th birthday. Not a biggie, but on such occasions I often reflect on past events, memories and chunks of time spent or misspent and I’m often faced with difficulty when I think about how much of my life so far has been tarnished by Anorexia and Bulimia. ]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/19/growing-out-of-anorexia/feed/ 22 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/09/ban-images-of-emaciation-not-airbrushing/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/09/ban-images-of-emaciation-not-airbrushing/#comments Wed, 09 May 2012 15:08:06 +0000 Ilona Burton http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=24005 In the Eating Disorder Unit, as we sat around in the lounge, cushions held tight over our swollen, protruding tummies, we were supervised post-meal to make sure we didn't throw up, exercise or make a bid for freedom. The blaring TV would be immediately switched over at the slightest mention of dieting or weightloss, certain staff would rip pages from magazines and websites (even my own blog) were blocked from view. ]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/09/ban-images-of-emaciation-not-airbrushing/feed/ 9 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/04/24/any-press-is-good-press-not-when-anorexia%e2%80%99s-involved/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/04/24/any-press-is-good-press-not-when-anorexia%e2%80%99s-involved/#comments Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:00:42 +0000 Ilona Burton http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=23463 Media coverage of eating disorders comes and goes in waves; one minute it's in fashion and the next, every editor in the world is sick to death of it. If one frustratingly and frighteningly successful news site is anything to go by, though, anorexia, or coverage of it, is really hot right now. ]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/04/24/any-press-is-good-press-not-when-anorexia%e2%80%99s-involved/feed/ 21 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/23/eating-disorders-the-blame-game/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/23/eating-disorders-the-blame-game/#comments Thu, 23 Feb 2012 11:14:16 +0000 Ilona Burton http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=21782 The patient will blame his/herself. The parents will blame themselves. The tabloids blame the fashion industry. The fashion industry blames nobody (ignorance is bliss). The partners (those that last) don't know who to blame. The public blame modern culture, celebrities; whatever or whoever they're told to blame by the media. The media, strangely, tends to blame the media. ]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/23/eating-disorders-the-blame-game/feed/ 9 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/22/access-denied-eating-disorder-treatments/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/22/access-denied-eating-disorder-treatments/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:56:36 +0000 Ilona Burton http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=21732 Nobody should have to fight or get down on their knees and beg for help. Nobody should be told that they have to get worse before they can get better. Nobody should ever feel belittled, ashamed and humiliated as a result of having the courage to speak out. ]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/22/access-denied-eating-disorder-treatments/feed/ 34 http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/21/%e2%80%9ci-think-i-have-an-eating-disorder%e2%80%9d/ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/21/%e2%80%9ci-think-i-have-an-eating-disorder%e2%80%9d/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:59:58 +0000 Ilona Burton http://blogs.independent.co.uk/?p=21674 You don't have to weigh five stone, have bones protruding like angry Himalayas or have lived by water and green tea alone for weeks on end to have an eating disorder.]]> http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/02/21/%e2%80%9ci-think-i-have-an-eating-disorder%e2%80%9d/feed/ 20