Natalie

Three years ago, I was in my senior year of high school and weighing close to 85 pounds. I was mentally and physically drained after years of using eating disorder behaviors; relationships I had with my family, friends, and myself were extremely strained because I was alone and caught up in my illness. After an almost suicide attempt, I took myself out of school and began treatment through an intensive outpatient program

I just recently passed the two-year milestone without eating disorder behaviors and I have never been happier: I have reconnected with my family, I’m back in school, and I now lead an Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous meeting to help others who are struggling. Had I not received treatment, I could have died from my illness, which is the sad reality for many struggling, as eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.