Anorexia – an abusive relationship

Author: Fiona, mid-20s with anorexia and autism

 

My mum has often compared my struggles with anorexia to someone trying to break free from an abusive relationship. I think she is right. 

To begin with, anorexia promises happiness, or at least relief from some difficulty or pain in your life. it comes with flowers and smiles and you are lured in, believing you have found a way to… cope. Something that can fill a need, make you feel safe, wanted, enough. 

It may work for a while, it may bring you a sense of calm and containment and you may even believe you feel better with it. But quickly, the tides change. It has manipulated you into thinking it is all you need, to the detriment of everything and everyone else in your life. 

It shuts you off from your loved ones and the things that genuinely bring you comfort and happiness with the false promises of relief if goals are met, but the ever moving goal posts mean it takes more and more time and energy to even get close.

Before long, it is controlling your every move. Everything you do ‘isn’t enough’, is wrong, anorexia is unpleasable. You restrict more, you exercise more, you do everything it tells you, and maybe once in a blue moon, it’ll praise you. You will be so overwhelmed that you finally pleased it, you go for more, more, more. But it’s never enough.

The more you give in, the stronger it gets.

It’s gets to a point where you have no friends, no one to talk to. Anorexia has convinced you that you don’t need friends. Your worthless, you don’t deserve friends. You have anorexia, you couldn’t possibly want anymore.

People around you notice the change, you’ve become withdrawn, sad and anxious. Consumed. You push them away – not because you don’t want their help, deep down you know their words of concern are true, but because you are terrified to go against the anorexia, the thing that once calmed the pain has become the source.

It takes time, it takes that final push when you realise the anorexia for what it is. You try to leave, but it comes back, promising things will be different. You believe it because after all, it did help at one point… maybe it will again, maybe it’s changed?

It hasn’t. You fall back, you get worse, you realise what a horrible mistake you’ve made but your too deep. You try to fight but it has the ultimate power. Your stripped bare of everything, your personality, your laugher, your happiness. Your left a shell. Nothing but an empty shell who is both terrified of this thing but also protects it with your life and lie for it to you closest friends.

Overtime, you will hopefully gain strength. Be this from others stepping in, or from your own self. You will fight. You will realise you deserve more. 

But the anorexia will still be there, there will still be all the memories it replays with rose tinted glasses, and you will still be tempted to go back. 

Recovery is a process of understanding that the thing that once eased the pain is not the solution, it never was. It is a process of learning different ways of coping, and strategies to see through the rose tinted glasses and not go back to the anorexia, even when it seems like the only thing that will help.

Recovery is also about mourning, grieving the years spent at the mercy of the anorexia. The years subjected to the torment, being trapped in its talons, unable to engage in life or with loved ones and confused as to why things went from idyllic to torture so quickly.

Recovery is about strengthening your voice against the anorexia, standing up to the lies, the temptation and the anger. It is scary and feels impossible at times, but it feeling impossible doesn’t mean it is impossible – just difficult. The strength to recover is unlike any other. 

 

I can promise you one thing though: to survive the grips of the abusive relationship of anorexia means you are strong enough to survive the recovery. I promise.  

3rd September 2025, London, UK – Univa, a digital health company at the forefront of clinical innovation in eating disorders, and First Steps ED, a leading UK eating disorder charity, today announced the launch of a primary care pilot that will deliver faster, more personalised support for young people with early-stage eating disorders.

The pilot will use the Univa Care Platform, the first digital programme in NHS eating disorder services that supports both the patient and their carers at the same time. Families can choose between digital-first intervention they can start straight away, or blended care that combines the digital programme with extra clinical sessions from First Steps ED.

The urgency for innovation has never been greater. Eating disorders are among the fastest-growing mental health conditions in the UK, hitting children and teenagers hardest. Acute hospital admissions for girls aged 11–15 have surged by 514% in the past decade, while in 2023 fewer than half of young people referred to specialist services were able to access treatment. The rise is not limited to girls – between 2015 and 2021, hospital admissions for boys and young men increased by 128%. The Royal College of Psychiatrists’ 2024 review delivered a stark conclusion: child and adolescent eating disorder services have never met NHS waiting time standards and remain unable to keep pace with demand.

This programme could mark the beginning of a new national model for eating disorder care, combining digital innovation, family empowerment, and clinical efficiency to meet one of the most urgent mental health challenges of our time.

 

Dr Alison Cowan, GP Clinical Lead for  Hertfordshire’s Children & Young Person’s Mental Health System and GP within the Hertfordshire CYP Eating Disorders Team, said:

“As GPs, we are seeing growing numbers of young people presenting with eating difficulties and the strain this places on families.  New models of early intervention such as this which can reach patients sooner, at scale, and in ways that fit around their lives would be a very valuable addition to the Hertfordshire eating disorders’ support. This pilot with Univa and First Steps ED is an exciting step forward as digital interventions have a crucial role to play in primary care, helping us to provide earlier, more accessible support and reduce the need for escalation to specialist services.”

 

Rich Andrews, CEO and Co-Founder of Univa, said:

“Primary care is where families turn first, but it has never had a scalable solution for eating disorders. The Univa Care Platform changes that. By giving both young people and carers their own tailored pathways, and by offering a choice between digital-first and blended support, we are creating a model that is personal, immediate, and proven.”

 

Daniel Magson, CEO of First Steps ED, said:

“For too long families have faced the agony of waiting for support, knowing every week matters. Eating disorders are often treatable conditions and people can make a full recovery from them, but early intervention is crucial. By partnering with Univa, we are bringing innovation directly into the community, empowering families to take control earlier.”

 

This one-year NHS-aligned pilot will be embedded directly into primary care, the first point of contact for most families, giving GPs, local care teams and schools access to a new digital model of early intervention. By shifting support upstream, the pilot aims not only to improve outcomes and symptoms for young people but also to reduce waiting times, prevent escalation into crisis, and relieve pressure on overstretched secondary care services. It is backed by six NHS Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in Hertfordshire: Stort Valley and Villages, Hitchin and Whitwell, Harpenden Health, Abbey Health, Alban Healthcare and HaLo St Albans PCNs.  

The pilot aligns directly with the NHS Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan, which calls for a shift from hospital to community care, a digital-first NHS, and a prevention-driven model that intervenes early rather than late.

At the centre of the pilot is the Univa Care Platform, a first-of-its-kind dual-care system that provides separate but connected digital care pathways for both the young person and their carer – an innovation not seen in NHS eating disorder care before. Families with a child aged 12–18 experiencing anorexia symptoms or restrictive eating behaviours will be able to choose between:

• Digital-first care – instantly available app-based programmes for both the young person and their carer, featuring evidence-based modules, daily and weekly check-ins, and progress tracking. This highly scalable model provides an immediate lifeline for families who want to begin care without delay.
• Blended care – digital programmes combined with personalised support from the First Steps ED clinical team, including secure messaging and up to 10 structured sessions. This offers families more intensive, tailored support when needed.

By combining immediate access with flexible levels of care, the pilot aims to prove that digital-first, dual-care models can deliver measurable improvements in clinical outcomes and symptoms, while also showing clear cost savings for the NHS through reduced referrals to secondary care and avoidance of emergency hospitalisation.

 

About First Steps ED

First Steps ED is a national eating disorder charity supporting people of all ages, genders and backgrounds. In the field of eating disorders, we offer the widest range of high-quality care focused on the needs of the individual. The services include psychotherapy, counselling, workshops, peer support and online tools for everyone impacted by eating disorders, including family and loved ones. https://firststepsed.co.uk/ 

The original press release from First Steps ED can be found here.

 

About Univa

Founded in 2024, Univa Health is transforming the care experience for people with eating disorders and their families. Driven by science and harnessing the power of technology and design, the Univa Care Platform combines real-time monitoring with interactive, evidence-based therapeutic tools to deliver earlier intervention, more personalised support, and sustained recovery. Its unique dual app programmes provide tailored pathways for both the individual and their carer, harnessing the power of the family as an active partner in recovery. Built as a platform of tools to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of both NHS and private healthcare systems, Univa empowers clinicians to deliver care that is proactive, scalable, and compassionate. Alongside its healthcare partnerships, Univa also provides a direct-to-consumer service.

Find more information in https://univa.health

London, UK 8th December 2024 – Univa Health, a pioneering health technology company has officially commenced recruitment last month for a landmark clinical study, The Use of Smart Devices in Capturing Biomarkers in Eating Disorders. This multi-site study conducted in collaboration with nine of the UK’s National Health Service hospital trusts, is set to revolutionise how eating disorders are monitored and managed, leveraging the power of smart devices to provide non-invasive, real-time data collection.

This first-of-its-kind initiative aims to create digital biomarkers—quantifiable measurements captured through smart devices—to provide clinicians with continuous high-fidelity insights into a patient’s physical and mental health. By collecting these biomarkers remotely, the study seeks to empower healthcare providers to offer more personalised, proactive care while reducing the strain on both patients and clinical resources.

“At Univa, we believe in harnessing technology to bridge the gap between possibility and practicality in healthcare,” said Rich Andrews, CEO and Co-Founder of Univa Health. “By leveraging smart devices to create real-time, data-driven insights, we’re breaking down barriers to personalised care. Our goal is to give patients greater agency in their recovery journey while equipping clinicians with the tools they need to make timely, informed decisions.”

A New Era of Eating Disorder Monitoring
Traditional methods for monitoring eating disorders are often invasive, resource-intensive, and distressing for patients. Univa Health’s innovative approach harnesses smartphone technology and wearable devices to collect and analyze a broad range of physiological and psychological biomarkers. These include physiological biomarkers such as weight changes, blood pressure, blood oxygenation, and hydration status, and psychological biomarkers such as mood, anxiety, and emotional distress.

The study will also explore emerging biomarker technologies, including voice pattern analysis and facial morphology tracking, to detect subtle changes that could signal shifts in a patient’s health trajectory. This groundbreaking approach could enable earlier intervention strategies and significantly improve patient outcomes.

“This study is about much more than a new monitoring tool,” said Professor Dan Joyce, Chief Investigator for the study, a psychiatrist and data scientist at the University of Liverpool. “It’s about building a foundational platform that will change how we understand, monitor, and treat eating disorders. Our goal is to reduce the burden on patients and provide clinicians with more timely, accurate and data-driven insights to improve care.”

Collaborative Approach for a National Impact
Univa’s clinical study has been designed with diversity, inclusion, and scalability in mind. Univa Health aims to collect data from a broad population spanning children, adolescents, and adults with varying severities of eating disorders. To achieve this, the study is being conducted across nine NHS mental health trusts in England, including locations in London, the Midlands, and the North of England.

Participants will be enrolled for up to 16 weeks, enabling the study to build a comprehensive, longitudinal dataset that captures the progression and treatment response of patients over time. The study’s design ensures that the findings will be applicable across diverse demographics, clinical settings, and stages of recovery.

“By collecting rich, near real-time data from such a diverse group of patients, we’re not just developing a technology—we’re building a clinical evidence base that could transform the standard of care for eating disorders,” added Professor Joyce.

About Univa Health
Founded in 2024, Univa Health is a UK-based health technology company transforming eating disorder care through a clinically validated, evidence-based platform. By integrating real-time monitoring of physiological and psychological biomarkers with interactive therapeutic modules, Univa empowers healthcare providers to deliver proactive, personalised, and adaptive care. This approach aims to enable earlier intervention, more effective treatment strategies, and sustained recovery, improving long-term outcomes for patients and supporting families with accessible, compassionate care.

Univa Health has successfully raised £1 million in a pre-seed investment round led by Germany-based YZR Capital, and backed by Austria-based Calm/Storm Ventures, two of Europe’s most active healthtech investors. The funding will support the development and commercialisation of Univa’s personalised digital care platform, designed to transform how healthcare systems manage and treat eating disorders while improving the lives of those affected and their loved ones. The investment will also fund Univa’s first clinical study, beginning in October, in collaboration with the UK’s NHS as well as help build the tech, product, and clinical teams needed for the platform’s launch in early 2025.

Co-founded by healthcare entrepreneurs Rich Andrews and Jose Santos, Univa is addressing the critical challenges in eating disorder care. Over the past five years, hospital admissions for eating disorders have surged by 84% in the UK and 121% in the US, highlighting the urgent need to tackle the devastating impact of inaccessible and ineffective care.

The heterogeneity of eating disorders further complicates treatment, as many healthcare services rely on one-size-fits-all approaches. This lack of personalisation, combined with a shortage of skilled clinicians, results in half of those with eating disorders not responding to treatment. In 2023 alone, nearly 30,000 people in the UK were admitted to hospital for eating disorders, with stays typically lasting three to four months. Despite the need for early intervention, the NHS is only able to provide care for 10% of adults with eating disorders. Nearly half of urgent cases for children waited more than 12 weeks for treatment. This backlog forces systems to prioritise only the most severe cases, leaving many without timely, tailored care that reflects the complexity of their conditions.

Rich Andrews, co-founder and CEO of Univa, commented:
“The widening gap between the need for care and available resources, along with the lack of personalised treatment options, urgently requires a radical rethink of how eating disorder care is provided. Our goal is to revolutionise care pathways, providing tools that empower clinicians and deliver meaningful results. We aim to keep people out of hospital and enable better long-term recovery while saving costs for the healthcare system. Univa’s platform will augment the overwhelmed clinical workforce by providing evidence-based tools to reach more patients and families, enabling earlier intervention, improved monitoring, and faster recovery.”

Univa addresses these challenges by offering a range of digital tools to enhance the management, monitoring, and treatment of eating disorders. These tools include tailored therapeutic programs, AI-driven health monitoring features, and real stories from individuals who have lived through eating disorders, delivered through interconnected apps for both patients and their carers. By involving families in the care process, Univa’s platform maximises treatment results and eases the burden on clinical teams.

Clinicians can use the platform’s professional portal to create tailored treatment plans and monitor patient well-being in real time. This approach allows for more individualised care and enables clinical teams to allocate resources more efficiently, ensuring that those most in need receive timely support while patients further along in their recovery continue to receive the necessary guidance and care.

Rich Andrews, co-founder and CEO, brings relevant experience from founding Healios and leading the company for over a decade to become the largest mental health and neurodevelopmental digital clinic in the UK for children and young people. He then expanded Healios into the US under the brand name Meliora Health before stepping away and starting Univa.   

Jose Santos, co-founder and CTO, also brings relevant experience from over a decade in the digital health field at several companies. Most recently, after his wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) he co-founded Indivi in 2017 to build dreaMSMD, the world’s first CE-marked digital biomarker platform to help patients with MS and their neurologists to better track and manage their condition.

Reinhard Meier MD MBA, Founding Partner at YZR Capital commented: “We at YZR believe in supporting transformative innovations that address urgent healthcare challenges. Univa’s approach to personalising eating disorder care represents a significant leap forward, offering a scalable solution to an issue affecting millions worldwide. We were particularly impressed by Rich’s experience as a serial entrepreneur, as well as the team’s connections to the NHS system, which strengthens Univa’s potential for real-world impact across the UK. We are excited to back such an experienced and passionate team, and we look forward to seeing Univa’s platform make a lasting impact on both patients and the healthcare system.”

Johannes Blaschke, Principal at Calm/Storm Ventures added: “At Calm/Storm, we seek out founders tackling systemic healthcare challenges with innovative, cutting-edge technology, and Univa Health exemplifies this with their transformative approach to eating disorder care. By leveraging an advanced, personalised platform that integrates both patient and caregiver tools, Univa is addressing one of the most complex and underserved areas in healthcare. With Rich and Jose’s deep experience in digital health and their strong clinical partnerships, we are confident that their AI-driven platform will significantly improve outcomes for those affected by eating disorders while also easing the burden on healthcare systems globally. This is exactly the kind of bold, purpose-driven healthtech innovation we are proud to support.” 

 

About Univa Health
Founded in 2024, UK-based Univa is on a mission to address the profound impact of eating disorders on individuals and their families. The company’s vision is to create a platform grounded in clinical evidence that helps healthcare systems overcome access challenges and provide compassionate, high-quality and personalised care in a cost-efficient way. Univa’s digital tools for healthcare teams, patients, and families are integrated into clinical workflows to transform how eating disorders are addressed, monitored, and treated, aiming for better long-term results and recovery for those affected.

About YZR
YZR Capital is a €100m health tech fund investing in disruptive early-stage companies that are driving meaningful tech advancements in healthcare improving patient outcomes and enhancing the efficiency of healthcare systems. The unique team setup includes health tech founders, professional investors, physicians and former C-level healthcare executives. YZR Capital backs outstanding entrepreneurs and their ideas that are reshaping the future of healthcare through technology with capital and healthcare-specific expertise to create global champions. 

About Calm/Storm Ventures
Calm/Storm Ventures, the most active early-stage healthtech fund in Europe, has solidified its position as a leading force in the industry with over 80 investments in the past three years. With a relentless focus on innovative healthcare startups, Calm/Storm continues to shape the future of the healthtech landscape, nurturing groundbreaking ideas that have the potential to revolutionize healthcare. They invest in purpose-driven founders who are transforming life, health, and wellbeing for the better. 

Contact for press enquiries:
Rich Andrews
rich@univa.health