Freya’s* History

Freya is a young woman with a history of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (AFRID) and mild learning disability. Freya has had multiple prolonged admissions in general hospitals, including spending time in intensive care due to physical health complications of AFRID. During this time, Freya struggled with her studies which were interrupted by frequent admissions – this affected her grades.

When she came to us

When Freya first arrived at Cygnet Hospital Ealing, she had been an inpatient at a general hospital for approximately 8 months. She had been unable to swallow or eat, was constantly vomiting, and required Nasogastric (NG) feeding.

Freya was unable to manage daily activities and personal care. It was especially difficult for her to brush her teeth, due to the anxiety she experienced around vomiting. Physically, she remained weak after spending so much time in a hospital bed.

Freya’s Care

With help from the Occupational Therapy team, Freya created a self-care schedule and was supported to start showering and changing her clothes on a consistent basis. By building up a routine slowly, Freya progressed to adding more activities to her daily routine and after some months began to brush her teeth.

In her psychology sessions, Freya addressed her fear of foods using a graded exposure approach. On admission, Freya was unable to eat due to the severe anxiety caused by associating food with nausea and vomiting. However, with gradual exposure work, she learned to cope with these fears and build confidence in her ability to manage the anxiety. Freya made great progress with the team’s support and eventually was able to manage having food in her mouth and swallowing.

Freya soon began eating foods again and attended regular meals with others in the dining room. Before long, she had her NG tube removed and was managing all meals orally with minimal anxiety.

A particular milestone was her agreement to visit a dental hygienist, which would have been far too overwhelming a few month prior.

Freya Today

Freya is now living more independently on the ward; doing her own laundry, keeping her room tidy and taking pride in her self-care.

Freya now prepares and eats snacks and meals at the low-support table and is finding excitement in eating her favourite foods again (particularly Chinese food!)

Freya is building her confidence eating in the community, joining community snack trips and eating independently at local cafés. She is proud to have organised a fundraiser at the service for an eating disorder charity, and has a newfound confidence ahead of returning to her retail job this year.

I’m proud of myself for working very hard and getting this far. I thank the Cygnet team for their patience and support during my journey here. I’m a better person now and I’m going to be going home. – Freya

*Name has been changed to protect her identity.