“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.”
‘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’
‘She patted my tummy. ‘Thanksgiving wasn’t good for you… too much turkey.’ I was confused. What was wrong with my body?’: Dancer becomes body positive advocate, ‘I want to be the change’
“I’d eat lunch and sneak off to be sick. I was ashamed even with all the dance and exercise, it didn’t help. I was fat. ‘Your body is wrong for dance.’ I didn’t fight back.”
‘I was SO proud of my body before kids. Even when I would drop a dress size, I never felt it.’: Mom finds self-worth after struggling with body image, eating disorders, ‘every stretch mark tells a story’
“I was more ‘attractive’ to men. Found it easier to shop for clothes. Being thin actually made me more acceptable in society, it made me seem like I had my life together. I used to feel so validated by being skinny.”
‘The baby weight will melt away with breastfeeding.’ When my milk never came in, I was devastated. I hated my body.’: Mom discusses postpartum self-love, ‘You’re worthy at any size’
“I saw all these moms on Instagram, three days after having their babies, in jeans going out for coffee. I had a mom pouch, wider hips, wider thighs, and lots of new stretch marks. I felt like a failure already at one week postpartum.”
‘I was the superficial party girl. I lost my fabulous cleavage and all my beautiful hair, the two things I felt made me beautiful.’: Woman finds self-love after battle with breast cancer, ‘It gave me the kick I needed to transform’
“I wasted most of life achieving nothing. There was no dancing on the bar with cleavage showing and crazy, curly hair. I had to find another way to make myself happy, I had nowhere else to look but within myself.”
‘He said I was a hypochondriac and was faking. ’You must be enjoying the attention.’ I became extremely nauseous, dizzy, shaky, and felt like I was going to pass out.’: Woman with bulimia, POTS, MCAS, EDS struggles for symptoms to be believed
“I don’t remember losing consciousness. Everything happened so fast, the next thing I can clearly remember is lying flat. I was sitting there, in a wheelchair, and he said I was a hypochondriac and was faking. I left his office in tears.”
‘Why would you do this to yourself? This is just bizarre.’ It’s hard to look in the mirror and see the damage I’ve done.’: Woman shares her history of self-mutilation and bulimia
“Sometimes I’d hit a vein and the blood would shoot out in an arc, creating stripes across the mirror and pouring into the sink. I was cutting away everything seemingly imperfect. Pulling out little threads which turned out to be nerves, partially paralyzing my lower lip and bits of my chin. I still didn’t stop.”
‘No one else has the guts to tell you this, but you look like a crack addict.’ I was surrounded by a looming cloud of self-hatred.’: Woman beats lifelong battle with eating disorders, ‘I get up every day and fight for my life’
“Every time I leaned over my toilet and stuck my fingers down my throat, I would tell myself this was just what a disgusting person like me deserved. I was a shell of myself. I was too scared to kill myself. “Please don’t let me wake up.’ On the morning of my grandma’s funeral, I knew I was next.”
‘My mom said, ‘You have to leave. I’ll kill myself if you stay in this house with us.’ I was given one week.’: Woman overcomes neglect, eating disorder, ‘I wake up every day and choose recovery’
“When I had my first period, I felt I was confessing to a huge crime. I asked her, ‘Why?’ She simply said, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’ I moved into a rundown bed where nobody spoke English. There was no lock on the front door and I frequently saw and heard people doing drugs on the roof of my bedroom.”
‘At 13, I was 300 lbs. My dad told me, ‘If you want to kill yourself, I’ll help you pull the trigger.’: Woman undergoes weight loss surgery at husband’s demand, ‘My soul is healing with each bout of laughter’
“I almost died on the operating table while my husband was talking to other women. ‘He said you’re giving him a hard time about not coming to visit you. You need to be more independent and let him do his duties.’ I was physically and emotionally broken. I didn’t care if I survived.”
