“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’

‘I’m so sorry I haven’t been kind to you.’ I looked at the girl in the mirror and burst into tears. ‘I promise to do better.’: Woman shares body positivity journey, ‘I love myself AS I AM’
“I analyzed my body in EVERY reflective surface. A dark window? I checked. Even checking out my shadow? Yep. I lifted up my shirt and looked at my body. My first thought was to be cruel to myself.”

‘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.”

‘I want to do one of those bikini shows.’ My ribs were visible and my face was sunken in. My body was dying.’: Former bodybuilder shares recovery journey, ‘You’re whole just as you are’
“My life revolved around food. I ripped apart eggs to only eat the whites, not the yolks. I ate the same amount of calories as a 3-year-old. My life was a train wreck.”

‘If I lose 10 more pounds, I’ll be happy.’ I had a postpartum body to ‘fix.’ I was terrified of getting fat.’: Mom overcomes postpartum depression and eating disorder, ‘Change is possible’
“I blamed myself for not being like other moms who had it all together. I would halt a workout and walk out of the gym if I spotted a fitter girl. It drove me into a pit of despair.”

Your Worth Is Not Determined By Your Appearance: A Guide To Self-Love During The Pandemic
“I’ve gained 30 pounds during quarantine. I can’t button my pants anymore. It’s hard to look in the mirror. And I’ve been stuck at my home with nothing but my thoughts and my new adult body.”

‘If I’d arrived 15 minutes later, I’d have been dead. I woke in hospital after almost drinking myself to death on an empty stomach, in reaction to my relationship ending.’: Woman thrives after no longer allowing eating disorder to ‘take away my voice’
“The look on my parents’ faces when I asked them what had happened and why I was there, broke my heart. I never thought I’d be one of those anorexics or bulimics who ‘took it too far.’ I started seeing glimpses of what it was like to feel happy without feeling hollow.”