Facing our fears and doing it anyway

On October 19th 2019 some of the team at The London Centre organised a charity fundraiser in order to raise much needed funds for a local Eating Disorder charity SWEDA (Somerset and Wessex Eating Disorder Association).  Three members of the team did a free fall abseil off the 80 meter high ArcelorMittal Orbit at London’s Olympic Park, the UK’s highest sculpture. The views were truly breathtaking, including the Gherkin, St Paul’s cathedral, Canary Wharf, Wembley Stadium and the O2 arena, among many other famous London landmarks. 

The team said of their experience "We are extremely proud to have raised over £4000 for an incredibly worthy charity based in the South West of England.  We picked this charity because the work they do is so important in providing a service to those who can’t manage to access specialist treatment via the NHS, and aren't able to access private treatment for geographical or financial reasons.  They are also very involved in prevention, early intervention and family / carer support; all things our team feels passionate about supporting”. 

When asked why they chose to abseil, the team said  'We decided to abseil as it felt so important to do something that would really be 'facing a fear', just as we ask our clients to do when they come into treatment…  Overcoming an eating disorder, and in particular taking those first important steps - acknowledging there is a problem, asking for help, and changing behaviours that have often come to feel so incredibly safe and protective - takes a huge strength and bravery.  There are few things as hard as standing up to an eating disorder and we wanted to do something that would remind us exactly what it’s like to step feet first out of familiarity and into a huge unknown. This was an incredibly useful reminder that even with all the tools to overcome anxiety, and all the knowledge that the thing you are about to do is 'safe', the physical and psychological feelings of anxiety can still be hugely overwhelming”.  We were so grateful for the support the rest of the team gave us, and of course to the team at SWEDA who also supported us on the day.  More information on the incredible work that SWEDA do can be found at https://swedauk.org/.

We will be planning another fundraising event in 2020.