NEDA stands for Eating Disorder Association and it’s a symbol of recovery.
It’s taking me a lot courage for me to share this part of my story, but I feel like the time is now for me to stand up and share my story with an eating disorder that almost took my life so it might help others out there who are struggling with the same thing. Between pandemic and social media numbers are on the rise for teens and adult women and men.
National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is this week (Feb 22-28, 2021). Eating disorders are devastating illnesses that can have some very serious consequences. Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Binge eating disorder has strong associations with depression, anxiety, guilt, and shame. Bulimia nervosa can lead to electrolyte and chemical imbalances that affect the heart, possibly leading to heart failure.
My story started in my late teens. Depression, family issues, events from my childhood and everything happening in my life led to me having a full-blown eating disorder. On my 20th birthday I was admitted to the hospital weighing 64 pounds. I was told by my doctor that if I didn’t get better and stop doing what I was doing I would damage my body so much that I may not have been able to have children!
This is an evil disease that will take over you if you don’t get the help. I think that with all the chaos in my life, my eating disorder stemmed from wanting to feel like I was in control of something. Well, I thought I was in control, until it began to control me.
The good news is that I did recover and I’m so darn proud of myself! I put my family and friends through hell, but getting the help I needed was 100% worth it. Fast forward to the present and I still call my first-born daughter, Ashley, my miracle baby!
For anyone out there who is struggling with an eating disorder I hope this will encourage/inspire you to get the help you need. Look for signs and reach out to your nearest and dearest to support you on your journey to getting better. The memories of it are still a big part of my life, but it has made me who I am today. I hope this will help at least one person to see that I am proof that you can get better and beat it.
