Beanbag Health is a digital app created by Lindsey Depledge and Simon Tucker who are on a mission to make mental health care more accessible to those who need it, specialising in helping people who struggle with disordered eating. I sat down and spoke to Lindsey Depledge about the creation of her app and her mission to build something where you feel comfortable, safe and supported throughout your recovery journey. 

MR: You founded Beanbag Health with Simon Tucker, can you tell our readers about your app and the kind of help it provides? 

LD: Yeah. So, Beanbag Health is an app for people who struggle with eating. It's an app for recovery from eating, exercise, and body image issues. We’re a small and passionate team, working with the Clinical Advisory Board and other experts in eating disorders. The app itself is based on CBTE, which is a form of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy that has a strong evidence base in demonstrating effectiveness for people with eating disorders. Also, both Simon and I have lived experience with eating disorders, either directly or indirectly. 

So many people struggle with or don't get the help that they need when they struggle with an eating disorder, that's why we wanted to create something to help. We thought an app would give us the flexibility to expand and be easily accessible to so many people, especially those who may be afraid to get help. 

MR: What makes it different to apps like Better Health or Talk Space?

LD: Better Health and Talk Space connect people with therapists, whereas at Beanbag Health we specialise in helping people struggling with disordered eating and we have created a 20-week course using Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Techniques (CBTE) in an app format that almost works as an online course as you’re given tasks to do that aid you in your recovery. 

You would be surprised to find out that  98 % of people who struggle with an eating disorder actually can't get the specialist care that they need because there are not enough people trained who understand how to help and that even includes GPs. 

MR: That's so true. I remember when I first sought help, the doctor just thought I was just acting out and being dramatic. They thought it was just a phase. It took a few times going back and forth for them to realise that, okay, maybe we should do more to help this person, to help this kid.

LD: Yeah, and in that time, the condition can get much worse. Also, it's really demoralising if you're told to seek help and they say it's nothing. It's confusing and you’re unlikely to seek help again. This is why when people finally get help, it's usually when they need crisis care. There's this need for you to have both physical symptoms as well as psychological symptoms for them to finally see you need help but this can sometimes lead to them only treating the physical symptoms but it's treating the psychological side that'll prevent relapses.

MR: How are you ensuring your users get the utmost care when using the app?

LD: We have a clinical advisory board and we check all of our major clinical decisions with them and we always work very closely with them, ensuring all product or content decisions are approved by them.

MR: What additional support do you offer?

LD: We offer a 20-week recovery program that includes interactive modules, reflection exercises, and learning and accountability exercises. We ask you to set yourself weekly goals and encourage you to add someone to support you throughout your journey, this could be your parents, your partner or friend. Your chosen supporter will receive regular updates about your activity in the app and informative emails to help them develop a greater understanding of what their person may be going through. 

MR: What inspired you to create it?

LD:  So I've got my own lived experience with eating issues, with an eating disorder but it was never on the extreme side which is why I never related to this larger narrative of what people expected it to look like. The term eating disorder can be a really weighted term, which is why we don't often use it because it's highly stigmatised and it's an illness that a lot of people don't want to have. 

So I had my own struggles with that and I was questioning whether I even had an eating disorder. There are so many people like me, in that they're struggling with something and they don't realise it because again they don't resonate with the larger narrative. And so with something like Beanbag, it feels like something that could fit into your life more than the traditional pathways that are available.

MR: Absolutely. I wrote a piece about my experience with mental health and disordered eating and how it was quite similar to what you just said, where it was so not a thing that was even really discussed. I never got deathly thin or anything. I suffered from disordered eating for a long time but thanks to CBTE and talk therapy I was able to get healthy. I still get triggered by certain situations but I now have ways to deal with those situations in a healthy way, to help me quiet those niggling negative voices. 

LD: The majority of people aren't. There are many different types of eating disorders as well and I think the stats are that only 6% of people who struggle with an eating disorder are underweight. 

MR: Yeah. And later on in my life, when I was still struggling, I didn't look underweight, but I had issues with food and body image. I had all these unhealthy habits but it's wild that when you talk to people who may not have a greater understanding of it, they immediately go, “Oh, well you’re not deathly thin so you must be bulimic, right?” and it's because of that narrative that we’re sold of what an eating disorder should look like.

LD: Yeah, exactly. There's a huge stereotype of the thin white 16-year-old cis girl but actually, there are so many more different types of people as well. This illness does not discriminate. It affects people of colour, men, and people with disabilities, it can affect anyone.

MR: What are some of the misconceptions about eating disorders that you wish would change?

LD: Well, I think the biggest ones are that anyone can develop an eating disorder at any age as well. I think we get a lot of people who are interested in Beanbag Health and the first question they ask is, “Oh, but is it for me?” 

MR: Absolutely! And I think a lot of it stems from the whole idea of what healthy looks like and what's considered healthy eating versus disordered eating, which, funnily enough, go hand in hand. You may think you’re eating healthily, but really, it's disordered eating. 

There is a common misconception about what healthy looks like and what may actually be considered disordered eating - what would you say are the differences between the two? 

LD: If it's impacting someone's day-to-day life and quality of life. For example, if you're obsessing over eating healthily and everything you put in your body then that's where it might be impacting your quality of life. It might be something that you're overthinking. 

MR: What does healthy even mean?  I feel like that changes with every changing fad diet. 

LD: I think nutrition is one side of healthy, but the other side is your relationship with food. And how much you're obsessing over it and if it's torturing your mind, then that's when you should take a step back and think about if what you’re doing is actually healthy. 

MR: Absolutely. That was something I had to think of as well. I would get anxious about eating in public and having people watch me eat because I would think, “Oh, my God, are they going to think I'm eating too little or are they going to think I'm eating too much?” I get such anxiety just thinking about it. I still don't like people watching me eat, but I have gotten better over the years. I also think labelling foods as good or bad is unhelpful. All food is “good” food, it just depends, I think, on how balanced you are. I think having a balance is important. I don't think you should cut anything out because then you crave it. Then it's like you have this thing that you're thinking about constantly. 

LD: Exactly. And I think it's also very difficult on the body image side as well because of social media where we see these very filtered lives and these very aesthetically pleasing images on other people's feeds. And it can lead to people comparing themselves all the time to things that they see that aren't real. And then there's that voice that some people refer to as the eating disorder voice, which is a voice that nags you about what you eat and how you look, making you question whether you look bad or if you look fat and it's about turning down the volume on it.

MR: Do you think the media's obsession with image has changed over the years?

LD: I think there's always been an idealised body shape and the media have always put forward a body shape or image that doesn't represent most people but now you see it more often and have access to it all the time. I think it's easier to think that the person next door is living this perfect life and you're not, and I think it’s so damaging and now there's a lot more of it.

MR: Yeah, I agree. I feel like there was a moment in time where for just a moment, the world was body positive. And then recently, I feel like the media have started reverting back to comparing women and talking about people's weight gain or weight loss as they did in the noughties. You saw it with Rebel Wilson when she lost weight during lockdown and it's rather saddening. 

LD: Yeah. Although, I think there are some positive pockets out there, which is nice. You can find blogs and profiles on Instagram or TikTok that feature super positive content about self-acceptance and love but at the same time, it's easy for an algorithm to show you something that's not so helpful.

MR: What advice do you have for other young people who are recovering from an eating disorder or are ready to seek help?

LD: I'd say recovery is possible. I think there are a lot of narratives out there that make it seem like it's impossible and sometimes it does feel that way. But recovery is possible and it may mean different things for different people. So, keep looking forward and know that it is possible and that you deserve it as well.

MR: Yeah, that's awesome. I agree. It may be just being able to eat a meal in public on your own without feeling anxious.

LD: Exactly. It's probably not going to happen overnight. And it might be small things, but you should celebrate the small things, always. Be proud of yourself for being able to stop a binge or being able to distract yourself and eat that meal and know that it is worth it in the end. And also that there will be setbacks and that's okay. It's not a relapse. Life goes in loops and sometimes there are setbacks because it's not a linear path and that's fine.

MR: Absolutely. There are ebbs and flows.

Mental health is so important, I have found therapy and CBT especially helpful in my life but it isn’t always easy to access that help - making it as accessible as you have will help so many people. What else can be done to make mental health tools more accessible? 

LD: I don't think an app solves everything for everyone and I don't think there should be an app for everything but I think spreading awareness is the biggest thing. And by awareness, I don't just mean everyone has problems and that's okay. I think that's good but I think learning how to be there for somebody else and spreading awareness on how to be there for other people is probably key because a lot of people just don't know what to do. They see their parents, they see their child, they see their friend struggling and they freak out. They don’t have the knowledge or tools to get them the help they need. So I think one of the biggest things that can help is definitely training people, spreading awareness and being there for each other.

MR: I agree. And I also think, like what you said, it's about understanding and it's about education. Having a clear understanding and knowledge of the subject is key. And I think it's something that should be discussed and talked about in schools. I think people should talk about feelings and emotions more frequently. I don't think that's something that we get educated on after we finish the first year of school.

I think that's something that should be continued throughout the education system because it's something I feel people still don't understand. We still have teachers who belittle students and devalue their feelings because, to them, their feelings don't matter. 

With my daughter, I tell her every day that her feelings are valued and they matter. If she cries, I tell her that it's okay to cry and that everybody cries, everybody has feelings and that it's okay. She's nine months old, she probably doesn't understand but I instil that in her because it’s important. Having that relationship and understanding that your voice matters and your feelings matter is everything.

LD: And listening, right? Sometimes it's just about listening. You don't need to do anything. And I think we live in a world where when someone tells you or tries to tell you something and you can see they're stressed out and upset we immediately go into fix-it mode. And sometimes the best way to fix it is to listen to them and just be there for them.

MR: During the course of creating Beanbag Health, what have been some of the ups and downs that you have encountered?

LD: So many, in terms of creation, especially in the very beginning. We launched an earlier version of the product at one point with a partner, and we went too deep with it too early on. We should have started out a lot smaller, but we were determined to do a full-on program. We learned a lot, but it just took a lot of time to get there. But I think the things that we learned and have really helped us is that we've spoken to so many people with lived experience. I think over the last year, Over the last year, we've talked to hundreds of people, which has helped us create something which is rooted in their experiences. Instead of creating something that would mainly help and benefit clinicians, we felt strongly that we needed to create something driven by people with lived experience. And because of that, we have been able to compile all of that info to make something that people would be able to see and know, “Wow, this is really for me.” And so that's been really amazing. 

MR: Do you have a launch date for the app? 

LD: Well, we did launch. We launched our free version. We are live. We have a free trial open until the end of the month. We don't have an official date but we are aiming for June to have discounted rates for some of our early users that join. But by that time a core group of people would have gone through the program as part of a free trial.

MR: That's so exciting! 

Ok, final question. I ask everyone this, name three things you can’t do without. 

LD: Oh, my gosh. I don't know. The sun. I'm a plant. I'm obsessed with the sun. I just need sunlight and warmth, which the UK is not a good country to be in for that, but the sun. What else? Chocolate. I like chocolate. I did try to go without chocolate, not for any specific reason, my doctor just told me to and I didn’t last very long, carob doesn't do it for me. I don't care what you say, doctor. What's the third thing I couldn't do without? Travel. Yeah. There we go. The sun, chocolate and travel. 

You can follow Beanbag Health here.