Having an eating disorder yourself, or caring for someone who has, can be a lonely and worrying experience. Whether you wish to talk to someone who will really listen or find out about the help available a call to SWEDA's confidential Telephone Helpline could help. The SWEDA Telephone Helpline and MSN Messenger service aims to offer sufferers of an eating disorder and their carers a chance to:

• Be listened to:
• Share some of their concerns:
• Obtain up to date information:
• Find out about the services offered by SWEDA:

The MSN Messenger service offer a text based support service (via the internet) running along the lines of, and parallel to, the SWEDA Helpline. Add support@swedauk.org to your Messenger contatact to allow you to communicate with SWEDA volunteers.

Telephone Helpline, MS Messenger and Email Support Wednesdays, 10am until 1pm and Thursdays, 4pm until 7pm

Trained volunteers are available to talk with you. An answerphone is available at all other times.

Help By Letter or Email

If, for any reason, you feel unable to use the helpline but would still like to get in touch or if you would just prefer to write then SWEDA's Help By Letter service could be for you.

The Help by Letter scheme offers a similar service to that provided by our Helpline but allows people to write rather than use the phone (although you can of course do both if you wish). Many of the same volunteers that operate our Helpline are also involved in the Help By Letter service. Just write to us and a SWEDA volunteer will respond to your letter directly and as quickly as possible.

This service is open to all but if you live outside of Somerset we would ask that you provide a stamped, self-addressed envelope to help cover our costs.

If you are interested please get in touch. Writing can also be a good way of making contact with us in the first instance if ringing the helpline feels too daunting.

Drop-Ins

Would you like place to go to meet with like-minded people for friendship and support in a safe, eating disorders aware environment?

The SWEDA Drop-In could be the place for you. Come and meet others affected by eating disorders to gain support and friendship, browse through our library of books available for loan, find out what else SWEDA can offer or just sit and be comfortable with friends and a tea or coffee. Both sufferers and carers are welcome.

Community Support Workers

Whether you are suffering from an eating disorder or are caring for someone who does, if you live in Somerset and would like to meet with someone on a one-to-one basis to talk about how you feel and to explore what support and options are available to you then Anita and Dinah, Somerset & Wessex Eating Disorders Association's Community Support Workers, are here for you. They are able to meet with you for an initial one off one-to-one appointment to talk about the issues that are important to you and to explain what other support SWEDA can provide for you.

You can arrange to meet at SWEDA, in your own home or anywhere else where you feel comfortable. If you are currently undergoing in-patient treatment within Somerset then a Community Support Worker could visit you at your place of treatment.

If you would like to make an appointment to see one of SWEDA's Community Support Workers then give the helpline a ring and we will arrange things from there.

These sessions can be useful in the following ways:-

To Gain Information

To Take Stock

To Set Goals

Life Skills Support

Our aim is to offer support for individuals wanting to develop their independence. Often, when you suffer from an eating disorder, it begins to steal your life away from you. This project can help you to reclaim your life and move on. If you have thought about this and have made a decision to go forward, then this support could be of interest to you. The support will be geared to your needs as an individual. This could be in any aspect of your life which has been problematic such as socialising with family and friends, developing new interests and hobbies, and support with food and exercise issues. If you are interested in SWEDA’s Life Skills Support, please contact Jan Page at SWEDA. You will then be invited to an initial meeting to explore the kind of support you need, and agree a plan together.

Low cost Counselling

Somerset & Wessex Eating Disorders Association has a low cost counselling service. Our counsellors are students in their 2nd or 3rd years of 'Diploma in Counselling' training. All counsellors receive regular supervision from within SWEDA together with support from their training colleges.

Our counselling service is available for all those affected by eating disorders. You may be experiencing anorexia, bulimia or compulsive overeating; you may have recovered from your eating disorder yet feel the need for support or you may be a carer - a partner, relative or friend of someone with an eating disorder and feel that you need support for yourself. You can find out more by looking at the Counselling Leaflet on our Leaflets Page.

An application form for the Low Cost Counselling is available here:-

For further information about the Low Cost Counselling Service contact Anita Worcester on anita@swedauk.org.

Pen-Pals

Writing to someone who understands what you are going through, perhaps someone in a similar position to yourself, can often be extremely helpful. SWEDA is starting a Pen-Pals service to enable people (sufferers or careers) to have access to this mutually beneficial form of contact.

Letters between Pen-Pals are sent to SWEDA and passed on from there so that you can have a pen-pal without the need to disclose your address give you an extra level of safety and privacy.

Anyone wishing to find a Pen-Pal will need to register with us. Lists of people looking for pals will be printed in our Bulletin and here on the web site along with a unique 'box number' and you can get in touch with them through us.

The Pen-Pals scheme should help to ease some of the loneliness and isolation that eating disorders bring by allowing you to share things with a pal, if you have specific support needs or questions you might find the Help By Letter service or Helpline more appropriate.

For further information and for guidelines on becoming a Pen-Pal, drop us a line or visit the Pen~Pals Page where you can also find details of Pen~Pals who have already joined.You can find our contact details on the Contact SWEDA page or read the details in our Pen-Pals Leaflet on our Leaflets Page. If you would like to join the Pen-Pals Scheme you can download the Registration Form here