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A Day with Anorexia Nervosa

Anonymous

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Rainbow

I had anorexia nervosa for 3 months at the end of year 12.

Classes had finished for the year, and I was focussed on my academic achievement during the self-study period.  I felt immense pressure to achieve. I kept my focus on my studies trying to maintain a good study habit. Controlling what I ate, helped me to feel in control and it helped me to feel good about myself, when really I wasn’t okay.

I would stay at the library until midnight when the library closed in order to avoid the family meal and the eyes of my parents.  My day would start at 7:30am with a strict routine of a shower, and an apple ,which I would eat as I walked to the library. I would not leave until 1pm when I would return home for a small lunch which I forced myself to restrict then I would return to the library.

I lost weight rapidly, and I could hear my friends whisper about my ‘changed appearance’. But I didn’t recognise I needed help, in fact it felt like the reverse, I felt good about myself.

My mother really aided in my recovery. She provided positive feedback and encouraged me to eat a more balanced diet. Had she been negative or pressured me, I think I would have resisted her efforts. Recovering physically was as much about my psychological wellbeing as about my physical wellbeing.

Untold Stories is an initiative coordinated by the UNSW Health Promotion Unit (HPU). The HPU team thank all the UNSW students and staff who have given us permission to share their stories.

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