Guest Series # 1 - The Power in Occupational Therapy

Here is the first episode of another series on the blog, where guest will be featuring their remarkable stories of their own recovery and how they have used their recovery as fuel and passion toward all things health and well-being. This episode features an amazing and dear friend of mine, Katherine - so, without much more of an intro I will let her take over! Enjoy.

"Here is a little background of me. I was a pretty happy kid, nothing dramatically bad happened in my childhood. I did the whole basic upper middle class working family kid thing, I had lots of friends and did pretty well in school. I had glandular fever and ended up doing correspondence for a bit and worked part time, I left school when I was 17 after finishing year 13 (I was a very young school leaver.) During my high-school years I got more and more engrossed into the diet culture, slowly becoming sicker and sicker. I left for Auckland at the beginning of 2014 to study fine arts. This turned out to be a nightmare year for me, I was dragged back home by my dad after he visited me at the end of my first year and saw how sick I had become. I admitted as an inpatient for sever Anorexia Nervosa to Princess Margret Hospital in Christchurch. I received treatment as an outpatient for six months, till I was caught trying to cheat the system (FIY, cheating doesn’t work guys) and was admitted as an inpatient. I spent six weeks on the inside before I was discharged and seen as an outpatient for six months after.

I first remember Megan standing in the lounge door way in an orange patterned dress smiling at me. During my time in hospital she was one of my biggest supports, we bitched about the nurses and the other staff. Complained about how unfair we thought some of the treatment was and were there for each other when we were having rough days. We were discharged around the same time but have remained good friend ever since, still providing support to each other.

During my recovery, and after I was discharged, I felt lost, I had no idea what to do with myself. I felt that anorexia had made me completely focus on food, shape and weight. I didn’t know what I enjoyed doing anymore and it took me quite a long time to feel like myself again. I slowly began to participate in occupations that I used to enjoy and engage with people that I was close to. After my recovery and once I began to feel myself again, I decided that I needed to help others. Resulting in my study of occupational therapy.

Occupations are any activity that an individual chooses to engage in. Occupational participation is vital for humans, we are social beings who have an innate drive to contribute to the world around us. Occupations can be work, productivity or leisure. Through engagement in all elements of occupation, we can have balance in our lives and develop our identity as individuals.

What I did in hospital

In my time in hospital, my occupational therapist focused on developing a better relationship with food through engagement in occupations. I would practice meal planning, supermarket shopping and cooking for myself. I would also attend “snack exposure”, which involved going out and buying food at cafes with other patients on the ward. There was also the craft room, which Megan and I spent a lot of time in and was basically the haven that I needed to express my feelings through art. Occupational therapists can also assist with therapies such as CBT, body image and self esteem development and creating routines.

Unfortunately, many people struggling with eating disorders do not have access to an occupational therapist to help them engage back into meaningful occupations. Below are some recommendations of interventions that could be incorporated independently into recovery journeys. These do not replace input from a registered occupational therapist. I would highly recommend seeking guidance from an OT for further intervention.

1. Identify and develop a support network No one can do everything alone, identifying a support network of people who you trust. Your loved ones can both encourage and participate in meaningful occupations with you. No one wants to do everything alone and it is always much more fun doing things with others

2. Reflect on yourself as a child I literally could not remember what I liked to do before I became sick. I found it personally helpful to think back to myself as a child, before the influence of anorexia to identify what I would like to try to engage in. I grew up walking my dog with my mum every morning before school, I knew I liked doing art and being outdoors in nature. Through participating in these occupations I knew I used to enjoy, I was able to identify new interests and felt more confident in my abilities.

3. Develop short and long term goals After deciding which occupations you would like to re-engage in, setting small, achievable goals to meet a larger, overarching goal helps to both develop confidence and skills in our chosen occupations. I found this beneficial because it gave me things to work towards outside of the realm of food and restriction. I developed goals around art, study and socialising with friends. Achieving them gave me a positive sense of fulfillment and helped to redevelop my confidence again.

Through finding myself again and identifying occupations I enjoy, I have been able to successfully complete my studies to become an occupational therapist. I am able to no longer be the sick person, instead I can help sick people. It is important to remember not to give up and to focus on all that we can do as individuals to help others."

From your friends,

Katherine and Rawing Meg, xx

Katherine and some of her work as an OT