National Carers Week 2025: “You are, know, or will be one"

During Carers Week 2025, NEDC acknowledges and honours the vital role that carers and support people play in the journey of recovery from eating disorders. To care for someone with an eating disorder is to walk a path of dedication, challenge, empathy and hope. This week, we wish to shine a spotlight on you - the family members, friends, partners, siblings, neighbours and colleagues who stand steadfast beside loved ones.  

The Role of Carers & Support People 
A carer or support person may be a parent, partner, friend, sibling, grandparent, child, grandchild, relative, neighbour, colleague, or any person supporting someone living with an eating disorder.  
Families and supports can collaboratively contribute to the person’s care in three key ways:

  • Supporting engagement with treatment - helping a loved one recognise the need for help, seeking referrals or encouraging access to care. 
  • Supporting implementation of treatment strategies - for example, accompanying them during meals, helping with distress tolerance, or providing encouragement.  
  • Supporting ongoing recovery - being part of the person’s long-term support network, fostering hope, and being there for the challenges and successes along the way.  

    Carers may also find themselves confronting emotional, physical and relational stressors. NEDC’s booklet Caring for Someone with an Eating Disorder acknowledges that carers might feel distress, guilt, anxiety, confusion or even hopelessness at times. Know that these feelings are valid and common. Seeking professional support from a medical or mental health professional can help you to explore these feelings and identify strategies to reduce the amount of stress you carry. Taking steps to look after your own wellbeing will improve your capacity to care for your loved one.  
     
    Tips to Strengthen Your Support Role 
    From the Caring for Someone with an Eating Disorder booklet and our Tips for Carers factsheet, here are gentle reminders for your own wellbeing and effectiveness:
  •  Learn as much as possible 
    Increasing your knowledge about eating disorders and treatment approaches will help you to support more confidently.
  • Externalise the illness 
    Try to separate the person from the illness and relate to who they are beyond their diagnosis.  
  • Communicate with compassion 
    Speak openly, without blame or judgment, listen carefully, and encourage emotional expression rather than focusing solely on food or weight.  
  • Stay positive and connect to strengths 
    Focus on the person’s interests, talents, hopes - remind them (and yourself) of who they are outside of the illness.  
  • Take care of yourself 
    Schedule “time outs.” Maintaining your own emotional and physical health is crucial and you can better support others when you care for your own needs.
  • Be patient 
    Recovery is rarely linear. Emotions, motivation and progress may ebb and flow. Patience is essential.  
    Seek support 

    You don’t need to do this alone. Talk to professionals, connect with peer networks, and access carer resources.  
     
    The System of Care & Where Carers Fit In 
    Eating disorder care is best delivered as a stepped system of care, where services increase or decrease in intensity according to a person’s changing needs. Carers play an important role across the system of care and within their loved one’s care team. This can include supporting the identification of warning signs and encouraging help-seeking, helping their loved one to access and navigate between services, providing consistency between appointments, supporting adherence to treatment, and providing ongoing recovery support.  

    Some carers may also have a professional role within the stepped system of care as part of the Lived Experience workforce. This can include roles such as providing peer support to other carers, delivering training, contributing to case consultation, or helping to develop and evaluate services.  
     
    This Carers Week, we acknowledge you 
    For every person providing care and support, your dedication, compassion and resilience do not go unnoticed. In a journey often marked by uncertainty, your presence offers continuity, love and hope. Recovery is rarely solitary, it is woven through connections, support, and shared courage. 
    May this week serve as a reminder that you are not alone, your role is meaningful, and your wellbeing matters too. 
     
    Resources 
    Caring for Someone with an Eating Disorder booklet - https://nedc.com.au/assets/NEDC-Resources/NEDC-Resource-Carers.pdf  
    Caring for someone infographic - https://nedc.com.au/pdf-download/toPDF?q=Infographics/NEDC-Infographics-Caring-for-Someone  
    Factsheet about Medicare Eating Disorder Treatment and Management Plans https://nedc.com.au/assets/NEDC-Resources/EDFA-NEDC-Medicare-EDP-Factsheet.pdf?2025101501   
    CEED carer resource – caring for an adult with an eating disorder https://ceed.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Carer-Resource-Guide.pdf   
    Eating Disorder’s Queensland Carer Help Kit  https://eatingdisorderscarerhelpkit.com.au/   
    InsideOut SupportED: Online Self-Help Program for Carers of People with an Eating Disorder - empowering carers with practical tools, knowledge, and confidence https://insideoutinstitute.org.au/resource-library/supported  
    Eating Disorders Victoria LearnED online courses for carers, families and friends https://learn.eatingdisorders.org.au/collections/carers-families-friends  
    SupportWise online modules for those with a loved one experiencing an eating disorder https://www.supportwise.com.au/   
     
    Helpful Services 

    National 
    Eating Disorders Families Australia (EDFA)– EDFA was created by families and carers for families and carers, and offers a range of services including the Fill the Gap counselling program and support groups. 
    Butterfly Foundation – offers support groups, workshops and webinars for carers, as well as a national helpline for free and confidential support for anyone in Australia concerned about eating disorders or body image issues, whether you need support for yourself or someone you care about.   
    Parentline - 1300 30 1300, www.parentline.com.au   
    SANE Australia - 1800 18 SANE www.sane.org  
     
    State-based  
    Eating Disorders Victoria - offers a range of services including a Carer Coaching Program and skills-based carer courses 
    Eating Disorders Queensland - provides a range of services including Carer Lived Experience sessions, a Carer Connect Group, Carer Coaching, and a Carer Peer Mentor program.  
    Luma Eating Disorder Carer Programs (Western Australia) - includes a carers weekly information program, weekly and monthly carer coffee meetings, and carer workshops  

    International 
    F.E.A.S.T (Families Empowered and Supporting the Treatment of Eating Disorders) - https://feast-ed.org/  


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