“’You don’t deserve this pain. Not only that, you don’t deserve anything which has been done to you to cause this pain.’ I believed her.”
‘This is what you DESERVE.’ Even my previous therapists made snide comments.’: Woman in recovery for eating disorder says ‘recovery is BEAUTIFUL’
‘We’re TERRIFIED you’re going to die.’ I didn’t have health insurance.’: Woman battling anorexia details recovery journey
“You feel invincible, and stuff like death only happens to OTHER people. My body can surely cope, the rules don’t apply to me.”
‘He raged, ‘Just STOP eating.’ Shocked and embarrassed, I did. I learned to eat quietly or not at all.’: Woman seeks recovery from eating disorder, trauma, ‘I’m reclaiming my joy’
“‘STOP scraping your teeth on your fork!’ he yelled. I feared family meals. I became strong when skinny and untouchable when numb.”
‘The thinner I got, the more attention I received. I decided to quit eating altogether.’: Eating disorder survivor opens up about self-love, ‘I’m at peace with my body’
“I starved myself Saturday through Thursday, only eating six pretzels and half an apple every day. Then Friday came and I’d black out. That was my life. I lived for food.”
‘It’s ironic how a bag of poo attached to my stomach could change my whole perspective on life.’: Chronic illness warrior overcomes anorexia, advocates for disabilities, ‘I’m finally comfortable in my skin’
“Wanting to be normal came at a price. Now, when I look in the mirror, I don’t cry anymore.”
‘I graduated to a full-time ‘bulimia babe.’ I wasn’t able to digest a cucumber. None of this is glamorous.’: Woman in eating disorder recovery urges ‘change the conversation about body image’
“When I’m on the edge of being sucked back in, I remember the bad times. Being in pain every time I ate. Not experiencing bowel movements for over a month. Eating so much it hurt to walk. I was scared to look in the mirror, to feel my body in the shower.”
‘All I have to do is lose weight, and I’ll be happy forever.’ I had no idea what I was getting into. I wasn’t strong enough to live this way.’: Woman recovers from eating disorder, ‘It’s a battle’
“I knew I had a purpose. I knew it extended far beyond eating salads and running on the treadmill, and I just had to find it. It was the small bites of chocolate, the rest days, the drinking a fruity drink and not thinking about what was in it, and the freedom of knowing my eating disorder did not have me wrapped around its finger anymore.”
‘Just one bite. It’s Christmas after all.’ I ran out of the room, crying. For over 10 years, I hated Christmas. I was terrified of it.’: Anorexia survivor says ‘I look for moments of joy’
“I spent Christmas after Christmas in fear. In fear of gaining weight. In fear of everything Christmas represents. ‘Do I want to spend the rest of my life reducing myself?’ Anorexia had wrapped its way around my brain.”
‘Now I’ll be taken seriously.’ I had bruises everywhere and my hair was falling out. I took laxatives every day. I’d gone too far.’: Woman shares eating disorder recovery, ‘Hope is stronger’
“I wasn’t eating anything anymore. All I consumed was 25 cans of Coke Zero a day. I’d sit and wait until the day was over to see if I had lost more weight. I was about to kick my boyfriend out of my life to isolate myself and make more room for anorexia.”
‘My doctors said, ‘This is enough.’ I knew they were right. My body was giving up on me. I was a prisoner of my own mind.’: Woman shares anorexia recovery journey, ‘I’m fighting for my future’
“My weight dropped dangerously low. Everything ached: my skin, my bones, my muscles. I destroyed myself. I’d never felt so weak, isolated, and depressed. I decided it was enough.”
