"2 years ago it was my ‘best friend’ and now
it’s my ‘enemy’! It no longer controls me or my family and together
we’ve pushed it away. I couldn’t have done it alone. I wouldn’t
have made it to uni if it wasn’t for my mum and the school nurse
who convinced me to see a professional team….that took them 6
months! …….. I was really pig-headed! I am talking about
ANOREXIA.
It started when I was 15 and my friends and I tried the ‘south
beach diet’….. most of them dropped out but I stuck with it…. I’ve
always been competitive.
At home there was so much pressure to get ‘A’ grades; at last
there was a different focus. I became obsessed with counting
calories and even kept a food diary. I lost more weight but still
felt huge and ‘ugly’ and wanted to lose more….. my friends tried to
stop me and said they were worried but I didn’t care.
Slowly, I stopped going out with them, preferring to stay in and
do my sit-up regime. I thought about taking slimming pills but was
too scared so I bought laxatives instead…. I felt so driven to lose
weight; the thought of putting on an ounce scared me to death. I
remember feeling weepy and very tired. At its worst, my fingers and
toes went blue!
Then, I agreed to see the child and family mental health service
where I met a team of professionals including a nurse,
psychiatrist, psychologist and family therapist.
They offered me individual therapy every week, to work through
things and have my physical health monitored too. The family
therapist was also able to offer us time as a family to work things
out….this felt like the most important bit for a long time,
especially for dad who found it hard to understand Anorexia. It was
tough and sometimes we felt like throwing the towel in but the team
supported us and we felt safe.
Even now some days are hard, but we got through it."