Anxiety is an eating disorder’s best friend.

As a child I was always a perfectionist and trying to achieve the top results and trying to please, but I was just trying to please myself because I was my hardest critic.

My anxiety started at the start of year 8 and took a toll on my school attendance as I would leave early, sometimes within the first hour, because I would panic and worry and felt like I had to get out. That’s when the restriction started, and over-exercising to try and deal with these strong emotions and it made me feel in control when really the disorder was controlling me.

I went on a fast slope downwards where I couldn’t get out of bed, my parents had no idea what to do. My parents decided to take me to a youth mental health service centre where I was weighed and told to go straight to emergency in the city as she couldn’t treat me until I was out of the danger zone for my weight. Little did I know I had a problem until they diagnosed me with Anorexia and was tubed.

Being very motivated after many fights and issues I picked myself up and decided that I needed to get better or the end result would be brutal. I am now fully recovered and ready to talk about my experiences and to spread awareness for this silent mental illness that has so much incorrect press.

Ask me 2 years ago when I first recovered to talk about it and I would shut you down and walk away, because it was too hard to talk about. My school support system was great and very supportive but to this day my friends don’t fully understand what I went through as its one of those things – you have to go through it to know what its like.

You are never alone and someone is always there to listen so speak out if you’re having issues with any mental illness because someone will always listen and offer their support.