Restore - Emma’s Story

“I am most grateful to Restore and would recommend the support they offer to anyone struggling in their battle with an eating disorder.” 

 

“I had suffered from anorexia for many years before I was put in touch with Restore. Whilst I had experienced numerous contacts with healthcare professionals in my fight for recovery, it had always felt a lonely pathway. Due to the illness I had felt isolated from my peers, and not able to share my struggles with them. When someone put me in touch with Restore, initially I was very nervous and apprehensive, but my fears proved totally unfounded. I had been matched with a befriender of similar age to me and who shared similar interests.”

 

“The support offered was completely on my own terms via phones, email, letter, or face to face, and this offered so much freedom to me. To be able to see someone who had recovered from an eating disorder and was enjoying life was a true inspiration. It gave me hope amidst the despair that I too might be able to recover. It also meant that I could share some of my inner thoughts and feelings, knowing she could understand having been there herself once.

 

“Whilst support from healthcare professionals has been vital, Restore gave me something different; hope, a sense that I was not alone, and a true friend who has been integral to my recovery. It was a mutual relationship that helped me to realise that I could make friends and relate to people my own age. The friendship gave me the strength to get to where I am now, enjoying life and just in the process of qualifying as a staff nurse. We have remained, and are still, close friends and I am truly indebted to her, and to Restore, for helping me in my recovery.”