How to overcome eating disorders? Céline Casse, a former patient, has long sought answers. Over the years and with the help of specialists, she has made it through. Today, his wish is to help those who suffer from eating disorders on a daily basis. This is how the platform, StopTCA, was born. Meet.
Feel hatred for food. Do not eat or even think about it. Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or even binge eating (eating more food than the body spends). These terms define eating disorders (TCA). When a whole life revolves around its relationship to food, between phobia and the irresistible attraction it exerts. For those around them, the feeling of incomprehension and helplessness is terrible, faced with a person who is often not aware of being sick and locks himself in denial.
Céline Casse, 27, has lived this awakened hell for more than 15 years. A part of her life which she wants to exorcise by helping in turn the patients of CAW. It therefore launched StopTCA, an online platform specializing in the support of people suffering from eating disorders and relatives.
"At StopTCA, we are convinced that the recovery of the patient is obviously done thanks to an adapted medical follow-up, but also thanks to the help of the entourage. We want the well-being of the patient but also of the people around him. We offer comprehensive support on the patient side but also on the near side."
How did your troubles translate at the time?
Celine : I started with anorexia when I was 9, then I went through hyperphagia. I was so bad about myself that I was eating a lot, real urges. To eliminate, I tested different ploys like excessive sport. Depending on the moments, I went on with anorexia and bulimia. My parents knew very quickly, especially around the age of 14. For a mom, it’s very difficult to accept a pathology like this. Mine felt very guilty, and also, she didn't really want to face the truth because she said it was because of her. In the end, I was quite alone in this disease. I tried to tell my friends about it, but the CAW was not well known 10 years ago. No one was aware of the seriousness of the thing. Even when I was hospitalized, I was ashamed of what I was.
How was your fight against the CAW?
Celine : I was really alone for a long time. At the very beginning, I did not find professionals who could help me. When I was 14, my mother did not want me to go to a psychologist because it had a connotation of madness. Then I saw a practitioner for relaxation and hypnosis sessions. But it didn't work at all. At the time of my master's degree in Lille, I started to take care again. My life was punctuated by fasting for three days and then I had binge eating, all alternating with intensive sports sessions. I was a normal weight but I was too fat. In my head, I absolutely wanted to make 60kg for 1.72m. To achieve this, I mistreated my body and my mind, even to the nearest gram. My relationship with food was complicated because since I was depriving myself, at the mere sight of sweet or salty, I threw myself on it.
What was the famous trigger?
Celine : It was a long and tedious road. I had the trigger during my graduate studies. I broke my feet and suddenly I could no longer compensate for my crises. So I said to myself: Céline, your illness you have to face it! You have no more means to divert the thing. In Lille, there is a service in a specialized TCA hospital. So I harassed this center by telling them that I was really not well and that I wanted to heal. In all TCA services, they are overbooked, there are months and months of waiting, unless the vital prognosis is engaged. So, for my case, I was not a priority. After three months, I had an appointment. I started going to a day hospital once a week. Then, I was hospitalized for a month and a half. When I left, I continued my journey by seeing dieticians, psychologists and hypnotherapists. I am surrounded by a multidisciplinary team. I worked on the psychological as well as the somatic.
When did StopTCA arrive?
Celine : The idea came to me when I was the manager of a hotel in England. At first, I saw an application but I was not very comfortable with this project. There is no human contact. So I decided to leave my work aside and come back to France. And I started interviewing a hundred people: patients, relatives and specialists. I really wanted to understand their problems, their expectations and their needs. From there, StopTCA, the platform, started.
How does the platform work?
Celine : At first, when I talk about the site I am told: but it's Doctolib Céline! I tell them that we are much more than that. On Doctolib, it's just networking. While on StopTCA, we are a platform specializing in eating disorders. We support loved ones as well as the sick. The entire care process is done on site. We coded a system that allows practitioners to work together, as if they were in a single establishment. As the consultations are done by videoconference, we can very well have a psychologist in Lille, a dietitian in Annecy and a naturopath in Marseille. At the moment, there are 17 professionals on the platform.
What are the specifics of StopTCA?
Celine : Consultations for CAW are very expensive. With my mother, we calculated the total care that I had and this amounts to more than 10,000 euros, non-refundable. If we don't have money, we're dead! When I founded the platform, I told myself that the goal is to help as many people as possible. So I decided to set the same prices for all patricians. There are three call durations and three different rates. We have tried to put lower amounts than those usually proposed. The idea of medical deserts is also present. Our platform helps patients who may feel well alone in the countryside, without doctors close to them.
Céline Casse and the members of StopTCA now wish to open multidisciplinary TCA centers in abandoned areas and they are also starting to do prevention in schools. According to the young woman, two things are very important for a person suffering from ACD to get out of it: to want to heal and talk about it.