Bulimia

Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder that mainly includes binge eating, vomiting or purging, and methods of losing weight/maintaining a low weight. It is a common mental health condition in the U.K. and affects people of all ages and genders.

While the condition causes people to be secretive about their struggles, some symptoms to look out for include: 

• Binge eating
• Vomiting frequently
• Using laxatives
• Excessively exercising
• Having a negative self-image
• Worrying about weight and body shape
• Being scared to gain weight 
• Mood swings and fluctuation

Bulimia is a serious condition that can affect every aspect of a person’s life. This means that it has a critical connection with work and employment. On this page of our Disability Advice Hub, we are going to discuss more about bulimia at work and how it can be best supported. 

How Can Bulimia Affect You at Work?

People who are living with bulimia may struggle at work in different ways. They may spend a lot of their time trying to cover up their symptoms or condition-related practices, which can be exhausting and cause them to withdraw from their colleagues. Their work performance may be affected as they experience a loss of energy and mood fluctuation. They also may miss work more frequently than others due to their symptoms. 

In certain cases, mental health conditions can be classified as a disability under the U.K. Equality Law. This gives people with bulimia access to work-related support, including reasonable adjustments to make them more comfortable and safe at work. If you have an official bulimia diagnosis from a GP or mental health practitioner, then you are entitled to this support from your employer. 

What Support Can You Get for Bulimia? 

Inside of work, reasonable adjustments that may help someone with bulimia nervosa include: 

• Time off for doctor’s appointments and counselling 
• Paid counselling schemes 
• Transport to and from work if their physical health has declined as a result 
• Exceptions around absence 

If you feel able to disclose your disability to your employer, you can make the most of these elements of support. Having everyone on the same page can really help you to get the support you need at work. If you don’t feel comfortable disclosing your disability to your current employer, it might be the case that your workplace isn’t as accessible and inclusive as you would like. To find a new job with a disability-friendly employer, you can browse our live job board on Careers with Disabilities. 

Outside of work, there are other avenues of support available to you. Making sure you know about all your options is a good idea. Take every opportunity for support you can. Some options are:

• Contacting your GP: You should always do this if you are struggling with your eating and mental health. Your GP should be your first point of call for everything to do with your health. They can help you directly and can help refer you to more specialist services. 
• Contacting a private counsellor: You can use the Counselling Directory to find a counsellor in your area. Talking to someone about what you are experiencing and feeling can help tremendously. Your employer might be involved in a scheme that will pay for some counselling sessions, so it is worth checking this out too. 
• Using helplines: The Beat Eating Disorders Helplines are a great resource for anyone struggling with bulimia and other eating disorders such as anorexia. Talking to someone confidentially and in your time can be very helpful. 

How Employers Can Help Employees with Eating Disorders 

The very best things an employer can do to help an employee with an eating disorder are: 

• Listening openly and without judgement
• Providing clear options for communication within the workplace 
• Creating an educated, inclusive work environment
• Approving reasonable adjustments requests and making all necessary changes
• Being flexible 
• Providing training and awareness material for all members of staff

If you can follow these steps, you can create the best possible environment for members of staff with bulimia. It is not about becoming a mental health practitioner yourself, it is about building an environment where people feel they can reach out, ask for help, and get the support they need.

When you build such an environment, you will find that your employees are happier, healthier, and keep their jobs for longer. This is good for you and them. Becoming a Disability-Confident employer makes things better for everyone involved in your business. 

What We Can Do 

At Careers with Disabilities, we can help with both sides of the equation.

For employees with bulimia – we can help you with resources and guides for working with a disability. We can also provide you with a list of accessible and inclusive companies that are perfect to work for when you have a disability or condition. Thirdly, we can provide access to a live job board filled with accessible job opportunities. Check out our jobs for people with eating disorders. All of these options should help you be as supported as possible in employment. 

For employers – our tools, resources, and advice areas can help you become the best possible employer. We can help you figure out how to become a Disability-Confident employer and show you the benefits of doing so. After that, you can begin to post your own job opportunities with us, as well as having your company profile on the site. We have a range of services for employers, each designed to make you as inclusive as possible. 

Life gets better when we all work together. So let’s work as inclusively as possible going forward.