Caring for someone with an eating disorder is a journey full of quiet, yet draining challenges. Carers often juggle complex emotions while managing day-to-day responsibilities that feel overwhelming and exhausting. If you know someone in this role, you might wonder how to ask if they are okay, and more importantly, how to support them practically and emotionally. 

Supporting someone with an eating disorder can lead to intense, ongoing fatigue often referred to as carer fatigue or caregiver burnout. Unlike many other illnesses, eating disorders can be long-term and unpredictable with ups and downs that don’t follow a clear timeline and can have critical consequences.  

Carers frequently manage not just physical tasks but emotional rollercoasters, constant vigilance around planning and executing meals (often six times a day), crisis moments and navigating healthcare systems and financial pressures, when they often have to resign from their place of employment. The relentlessness of caring means they often neglect their own needs which leads to exhaustion, stress and feelings of isolation. Recognising carer fatigue is the first step toward offering meaningful support and reminding carers that it’s okay to ask for help themselves. 

On R U OK? Day, we want to remind you that showing up with kindness, curiosity and practical help can make all the difference in supporting a carer. 

Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is simply be with them, fully present and without judgement, and offer help in small ways that lighten their load.