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What a joy to have Jenny Langley on the podcast.

Since her son recovered from anorexia 20 years ago, Jenny Langley has campaigned to raise awareness of eating disorders and the impact on the whole family, and to provide practical help and support to families affected by eating disorders.

Jenny co-authored the New Maudsley Skills-Based Training Manual and wrote of her family’s experiences in the book Boys Get Anorexia Too.

In this episode, we talked about recovery, empowering parents and carers as well as those struggling and here are some of our key takeaways.

What we learn in this episode:

• The gap between clinical care and real-life recovery is real
• Recovery isn’t linear—and that includes movement
• “Starting again” isn’t failure—it’s part of the process
• Exercise can easily become another way to reassert control if not approached carefully.
• A healthy reintroduction to movement might focus on:
  • Curiosity over performance
  • Flexibility over rigidity
  • Internal cues over external metrics
• Carers carry more than just practical responsibility
• For carers listening:
  • You’re often “on” all the time, even when things look stable
  • Your wellbeing matters too.
• “All or nothing” thinking can sneak into exercise in recovery and how to navigate a safe return to movement.

Resources for Parents, Friends, Carers:

Caroline Toshack Counselling - Caroline has particular expertise in supporting people with a difficult or disordered relationship with food or their body. This includes eating disorders, exercise dependency and body image concerns.

The New Maudsley Approach - A resource for professionals and carers of those with eating disorders

Beat - UK Eating Disorder Charity - Beat provide carer groups, free resources, signposting and support

Attempt to Flee Famine: Adding an Evolutionary Perspective on Anorexia Nervosa

Support the show

Please reach out if you would like some support with your relationship to food OR movement. Ela currently has limited spaces for Intuitive Eating coaching and if you'd like to reconnect with movement, contact Christine. If you'd like exclusive access to our supporter-only channel click here.

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