South Yorkshire eating disorder charity helping 1,000 people per year
The South Yorkshire Eating Disorder Association has been in place for around 30 years
We're hearing people struggling with eating disorders in South Yorkshire are 'less likely to relapse' - if they get help 'sooner rather than later'.
That's what staff at South Yorkshire Eating Disorder Association tell us.
They've supported around 1000 people in the last 12 months.
Alana Wilde - who grew up in Barnsley - is the Chief Exec of the charity.
She's been telling us about her journey - after first getting diagnosed with anorexia as a teenager:
"I did relapse several times and I'd moved out to America - and had another relapse out in the USA.
"I was very fortunate that every time I was unwell, I could get support.
"It took me around 20 years to get to a stage where I was really stable in my recovery.
"Eating disorders are quite unpredictable. They can sneak back in when you aren't really paying attention to them.
"I certainly had a bit of an up and down period myself where I was okay, and then I wasn't.
"Eating disorders do affect people from different ages and backgrounds.
"They can all present quite differently amongst different people."
SYEDA aim to see people within 4-6 weeks after they've been referred to the service.
• Less than 6% of people with an eating disorder are clinically underweight.
• SYEDA support around 1000 people per year across South Yorkshire
• Because eating disorders can become cognitively, and neurobiologically ingrained, and over time also become very habitual, receiving support within the first three years of symptom onset has been shown to lead to better outcomes.