Speaking up is the best thing anyone can do and I hope that everyone who reads this will take that with them.
Ever since I can remember, I always wanted to be the tiniest out of all of my friends. In year 7, I began to restrict “bad foods”. I became vegetarian and then vegan and I was eating very minimal food. I was also extremely into running so I would run 8km every single day. I was killing my body, I became anaemic and was admitted into hospital after fainting and becoming unresponsive for 30 minutes. I was rushed to hospital and it was the worst week of my life.
I then isolated myself from my friends and family and hated going to school. Within the past 6 years I have been in and out of psych wards, hospitals and weekly appointments. I wasted my whole high school years worrying about how small I was and honestly it is my biggest regret. I was 14 and diagnosed with anorexia and I was so afraid. I felt like I couldn’t talk to anyone about my issues because it wasn’t a topic that was ever spoken about. I still have lots of issues with food however my relationship with food is becoming stronger everyday. When I was in year 9, I lost my period and due to this have a very low chance of ever being able to have children. This breaks my heart because ever since I was a little girl I have wanted to have my own family. I did this to myself though and have to accept this.
If I could say anything to my 13 year old self it would be to love yourself and not compare yourself to others.
I want to thank “the skinny elephant” for letting me share my story and advocating for individuals to speak up about eating disorders. Eating disorders are extremely common and we need to break the stigma behind them. I also wanted to say thank you to my Mum for always supporting me through everything. She has always told me that “a problem shared is a problem halved” and this has stuck with me to this day. Speaking up is the best thing anyone can do and I hope that everyone who reads this will take that with them.
the skinny elephant 