The truth about what it's like to live with an eating disorder like anorexia

It's the end of Eating Disorders Awareness Week and earlier in the week one of my friend's daughters courageously wrote about what it's really like to live with an eating disorder like anorexia. I have her permission to share it with you below. Meanwhile I would like to thank this brave young woman for speaking out about something that was obviously very difficult for her to put into words, but she has done it admirably:

"I don't normally post this kind of thing, and I'm pretty nervous about sharing, but seeing as we're midway through #eatingdisorderawarenessweek, I feel compelled to speak out. This is a cause very close to my heart, being a sufferer myself.

"Eating disorders are SERIOUS ILLNESSES and have the highest mortality rate of any mental illnesses. they are not a choice and you can't 'just eat' or 'snap out of it'. They are biological brain based illnesses and are far from 'just a phase'. Anybody of any age, gender or weight can be affected, eating disorders do not discriminate. They completely suck you dry of any life, leaving you a shell of a human being, they affect every aspect of your life, not just your eating.

I don't like to post about this kind of thing on here normally, but I want to help bring awareness on this subject with the aim to help anyone else out there suffering come forward and seek help and not be afraid. Living with an eating disorder is a living hell. It's torturous. It plays tricks with your mind, it's sneaky, secretive, deceptive and extremely lonely and terrifying to be in your own head. Its only mission is to kill you. I know only too well how scary making the decision to try and recover is, as Anorexia can trick you into believing it's right and it feels like a comfort blanket, a safety net, but in reality it's the total opposite. I've wasted over 10 years of my life to this illness, missed out on all the 'normal' teenage years and now my early adulthood. Please don't put off asking for help, don't be afraid, even your worst day of recovery is better than your best day of being ill. One day I hope I can get over this, for now every single day is a battle and I just have to take things a day at a time, but recovery IS possible and I still have hope. For anyone else suffering stay strong and keep fighting. Sorry for the essay! X"