Jodie uses a CSR Day in support of an Anorexia research project

Jodie Goff, Bids and Business Development Executive, used one of her CSR Days in support of the Beacon Project’s research into Anorexia at King’s College London.

What is the Beacon Project?

The BEACON project is investigating the impact of autistic traits on recovery from anorexia in females aged 12-25 years, and whether any structural differences exist in the brains of people with more or fewer traits. The aim of this research is to gain a better understanding of possible underlying factors of Anorexia Nervosa and develop more targeted treatments.

How did you get involved?

I’ve followed the work of Beat (the UKs eating disorder charity) and noticed a post asking for females between the ages of 12-25 who were in recovery from Anorexia Nervosa to take part in the Beacon Project. I’ve been diagnosed twice with Anorexia Nervosa (when I was 16 and 19) and been admitted to the Haldon Unit as an inpatient so I was eager to volunteer my time in support of this project. I hope that the results of projects such as this one will enable the provision of more support and help for those that need it.

What did you get up to on the day? 

I travelled to King’s College in London to take part in the research – it felt quite daunting as I hadn’t taken part anything like this before! I took part in multiple questionnaires, tests and spent over an hour in a Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI) machine, which measures my responses to a series of tests. It was a very strange experience, but it was really interesting to see, and I will be sent a photo of my scans as a follow up.

I’m really pleased to have been able to use a CSR Day to do something that contributes to developing our understanding of Anorexia. The following mental health charities are extremely useful for anyone who needs support or wants to find out more about Anorexia and Mental Health.

• Beat
• NEDA
• MIND