If the EDFA Facebook community feels like a safe place to land, a place to ask any question or vent any frustration, Briony is a big part of why.

She came to EDFA having loved and supported 2 daughters through eating disorders, knowing firsthand how isolating that journey could be. “I would have loved if there was an EDFA facebook page, where I could have gone for information and support” she says. “Caring for someone with an ED is so isolating. Not everyone has people around them who understand what is going on.”

Since October 2020, right from when EDFA launched its Facebook page, Briony has been one of the quiet forces keeping the community running. As a moderator she approves posts, watches over the group and shows up in the comments with empathy and lived experience. Unglamorous work, done behind the scenes that is integral to keeping carers afloat.

After nearly six years, she has a clear sense of what carers struggle with most… navigating their journey. “What works for one family might not work for another. Listen to people’s stories but know that someone else’s path probably won’t be yours and that’s okay.”

Holding space for people in real pain while keeping the community safe is, as Briony puts it, “the trickiest part.” When things feel uncertain, the moderators lean on each others lived experience to collaborate collectively.

Ask what moments have stayed with her and she doesn’t hesitate. The hopeful ones. “I love the posts where people come back and deliver hope. When you are in the thick of it, you need to see that there can be light at the end of the tunnel.”

Outside of EDFA, you’ll find Briony on the water – swimming, kayaking, boating, sailing. “Swimming and friends,” she says when asked what fills her cup. “That’s about it.” Her husband keeps her steady when things feel heavy and their daughters’ journey, she says, brought them closer.

And if she could say just one thing to a carer who just found EDFA for the first time?
“This path won’t be straight and might take lots of deviations and backtracks but…… you will find it.”