I got diagnosed with OCD when I was very young. My OCD varied on different topics, but later in life my OCD fixated on food, and within time I developed an eating disorder.

University – a time full of new experiences, new friends, new skills and also new challenges. My first year at university ended up being the most challenging and unpredictable year of my life.

For a bit of background about me - I have struggled with my eating disorder since I was 16 (I am now 24 and in recovery). I never knew that it had taken hold of me that young until I started to talk about my experience and tracked it back.

It all started from several stressful events in my life, which I dealt with by exercising and controlling what I ate. Prior to its the development, I was a happy, loud and approachable character whom friends or family would turn to.

When it comes to thinking about the physical damage that may be done by an eating disorder, it isn’t uncommon to hear mention of fertility, particularly when it comes to anorexia.

Growing up, Christmas was my absolute favourite time of year and now that I am rid of my eating disorder, I am free to enjoy the festivities once again. However, I spent two awful Christmastimes, the first with bulimia and the second with binge eating disorder.

Instead of living your life pretending it didn’t happen, we need to start embracing the past and using it as an experience that we’ve learnt from.

Not once did I believe I'd be free of the rules of self-cruelty. But here I am, free of my compulsion to lose weight, free of bulimia and with a free mind.

I’ve recently started to take personal development a bit more seriously, and I’ve spent a good amount of time reflecting on my recent past as a result.

Recovery is like a swimming pool with no shallow end. You can’t just dip your toe into the water or walk in until it’s up to your knees for it to work.

At the age of eight, I started to see a change in myself. I started comparing myself to everybody I saw.

The demands of maintaining an eating disorder alongside working full-time were too much, and the eating disorder often won.

I felt sick all the time. Thought about food all the time. Lied and kept secrets and snuck around and hid. I did some terrible things.

Without a doubt, people look at you and long for your long curly hair, your curves, your eyes or your confidence.

I'm going to change the stigma surrounding eating disorders, help those going through the struggles of battling voices telling them they're not good enough.

I don’t remember why I started making myself sick or even when, but I will always remember why and when I took the decision to stop.

The realisation that I had no control over the one thing I clung on to so tightly was my breaking point.

If the community isn’t making you stronger & helping you then it no longer serves a purpose in your recovery, but you have the power to change that.

What may help, & what aided me in my recovery, was personifying the eating disorder – I chose to give mine the deliberately reductive moniker 'ED'.

I cannot cut food out of my life cold turkey, but I can manage the situation now. And for me, that management came through honesty, openness and sharing.