Surman got some help from a therapist, a patchwork of doctors and a dietitian after that — but he says he didn’t really begin processing his disorder until he was able to share his experience with a friend who had also struggled.
“I’d never had support like that. It means the world. I don’t know how to quantify the impact of empathy, but it’s not trivial.”
Jérôme Tremblay, clinical co-ordinator at Anorexia and Bulimia Quebec (ANEB), says peer support can help those struggling with an eating disorder take a big step in their recovery.
“It can help break the silence surrounding the disease, and it helps a lot with breaking the loneliness of living with that disease,” Tremblay said.
“Breaking the silence is the most important step toward recovery, I would say.”