Ask Sam letter

Hi there,

Thanks for your letter telling me about what’s going on for you. You’ve been really brave to get in touch.

The fact that you’ve written to me about puking your meal makes me think you’re worried about doing this. Making yourself sick after meals is really risky because it can have lots of negative effects on your health like damaging your teeth and giving you bad breath and a sore throat. Over time it can also lead to really serious complications like kidney and heart problems. The Explore section has a page all about eating problems that you might want to take a look at.

People might start making themselves sick for lots of different reasons. Sometimes when other parts of their life feel out of control, people start controlling their eating as a way to help them cope. I’m wondering what else is going on for you at the moment and what sorts of things are on your mind? Getting a bit of support with anything else that’s worrying you could be one way of helping you feel less like you need to make yourself sick.

You haven’t mentioned whether anyone else knows about what’s been happening, but it sounds like you could really do with a chance to talk. Maybe you could have a think about whether there are any adults that you trust, like maybe a family member or teacher, who you could talk to. Another option would be to visit your family doctor or the school nurse. Speaking out can be scary but the sooner you share a problem, the sooner you can start to tackle it.

If you’d like to talk some more then the ChildLine counsellors are there to listen. You can speak to a counsellor by logging in for a 1-2-1 chat or calling for free on 0800 1111. You might also want to take a look at our message boards where young people share their experiences and post each other messages of support.

Take care,

Sam