Recovery Story: It’s your life, so make choices you won’t regret.

Chloe's Story

Chloe, from Suffolk, is 19 and an Accounts Assistant.

I know some people develop food problems gradually however for me it was very sudden. I literally awoke one morning in 2016 and something had hijacked my brain…I just could not eat.

The anorexia was incredibly manipulative, but after a few weeks without food I was so fragile that it was obvious what was going on. Fast forward 6 months of hell, my body was barely functioning and my family in shambles. My hair was falling out in clumps and I had all the grotesque side affects that nobody seems to ever talk about.

Finally, in February 2017 I was admitted into inpatient care. I remember on my admission asking what all the fuss was about as ‘I was perfectly fine’. The fact I believed that is almost comical now…I was such a mess.

The next few months were tough…like insanely tough…but in the unit I could also be myself for the first time in my life and I am beyond grateful for every moment that I spent there.

Upon discharge, I’d come a long way, but I was far from recovered. Things were slowly going downhill until earlier this year when I bit the bullet and sought help. Unlike my previous treatments, nobody was forcing me. This time I wanted it.

It’s been exhausting juggling treatment with a job and studying however it is 100% the best decision I’ve ever made. Life is finally worth living and with the help of the most amazing team of specialists, my family, friends, the best dog in the world (ok I’m bias) the future is looking brighter than ever. Recovery will be a long journey but it’s a case of small steps, all heading in the right direction. I just wish that everyone struggling with an eating disorder could see that there is so much more to life than their illness lets them believe.

Just think...When you’re 90 and wishing you had more time, will you be looking back thinking ‘thank goodness I counted every calorie…weighed myself constantly…exercised for hours each day…’? It’s your life, so make choices you won’t regret.