Chantelle
Now that i’ve overcome anorexia there’s no way i ever want to go back there. I remember all that was important for me was being thin and that I’d be able to see my protruding bones in the mirror. All i thought about was food, and how many calories i’d consumed and how i could further reduce them, even though I knew that my life was in danger. I became a slave to Anorexia... I forgot what it meant to go out with my friends and have fun, to have a smile on my face and to be happy. Today I’m proud to have recovered from anorexia and not to have let it destroy me. Finally, I am managing to look into the mirror and feel comfortable in my body. My life has come to mean more than simply what food I’m going to eat. I’m taking an interest in school, integrating with friends, and having fun. Finally I’m feeling happy again......I’m LIVING again.

Malcolm
Most children are either fat or thin. I was the former. This wasn’t a problem until I started to realize that it was more acceptable to be thin. This realization made me want to change my appearance drastically. So, as most people do when they want to shed a few kilos, I started to watch what I ate and exercised more. At first it was a very healthy and controlled weight loss but at some point it started to go a bit haywire. As time went by the amount of food I used to eat would decrease day by day until I was just eating an apple and some crackers and drinking nothing but water. A common misconception is that most eating disorders like anorexia are female illnesses. I also believed this and so it made it harder for me to realize what I was doing to my body and also how I was hurting the people who love me.

Emma
I began my recovery journey from anorexia when I was 16 years old. It was a gradual process and a hard one, but once I truly felt that I wanted to get better and be healthy and happy, the steps moved quicker. Now, four years on, I find it hard to even think about what it was like to be anorexic. I look at photos of myself back then and I can barely believe that that sick lifeless girl was me. Overcoming anorexia is probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do, but I am actually grateful that I had to do it. I learned a lot about myself during that time and I overcame many obstacles in my life that were causing me to turn to anorexia. I forgave myself. I worked on my confidence. I taught myself to love myself and to let others love me.