Eating disorders can't be defined precisely; everyone’s illness is different and it's impossible for anyone to understand every symptom and every struggle.
If it hadn’t been for the NHS, we wouldn’t have been able to access the care my daughter got; we couldn’t have afforded it.
I told my parents and they said they had suspicions but thought they'd know if something was wrong. A lot of people didn't know what to say.
Anorexia isn’t the same for everyone, & whilst the majority of patients share negative attitudes towards food, it doesn’t manifest itself in the same ways.
If I could speak to myself at each of the pivotal moments in my illness, starting when my anorexia developed after my 16th birthday, this is what I'd say.
It was a shock to be diagnosed with anorexia at the age of 32. I wasn’t a teenager, I didn’t see myself as skinny, I was still eating.
So I'm visiting the place where, in one respect, it all ended but, in another, where it all began.
My story begins when I was 16 with a motivation to shift a few pounds to look ‘slimmer’ in prom photos. It became a monster of an eating disorder.
I woke up a few years back with a voice in my head, at first, I thought it was my friend but over time it filled me with dread.
If you ran a marathon without any shoes on you certainly wouldn’t win, so don’t punish yourself if you’ve had setbacks because of an eating disorder.
I don't recall booking a flight for two, but there you were, firmly planted into the seat next to me.
There's no such thing as happiness & an eating disorder co-existing together. There's no such thing as satisfied when it comes to an eating disorder.
Having anorexia is a journey and at every step I’ve taken with this illness, my mother has been there.
What people do not seem to realise is that we do not want this either.
5 things never to say to a recovering anorexic. Dr Pooky Knightsmith Hesmondhalgh's post is invaluable for parents, partners, family members &friends.
If this experience has taught me anything, it is that although it is scary to take a leap of faith, to venture into the unknown, it can be so worth it.
I want to raise awareness of this terrible illness and what it does, not just to the sufferers but also to the ones around them.
Anorexia was not a part of my early life. I was a pretty normal teenager, I didn’t really rebel.
It seems strange to write a letter to someone or something that isn’t a physical entity, but at the same time couldn’t be more real to me.
I know it is up to me to destroy you. His fight alone would never win this war. But with him I do not face you alone.