This blog post was sparked by some comments on a particular video I saw on youtube.As a subject close to my heart. I wanted to write this post to help people try and Understand the difference between being skinny and anorexic. As I don't know this girl on youtube, I can't personally defend her and I don't know her story! So I'm going to help you all to understand through my story!
Way back In the 1988 I was Born a happy healthy-ish baby, but judging by my dads hair or lack of not all was good and rosy for long. Almost from the day go, food was a battle for me. after spending months in hospital, I was soon nicknamed the Anorexic baby! Eating and keeping food down was a daily struggle for me and my parents. After some time the doctors told my mum and dad that unless I started eating properly soon, I would die and that they should take me home and enjoy what time I had left!I can't Imagine how heart breaking that must have been for them. My parents took me over to the Netherlands, I think to say good bye to my Dutch family! Little did they know that this was when I would start eating! And I ate a-lot my mum said,she brought me back to Wales, had me weighed, and I hadn't put on a gram! Needless to say mum wasn't Impressed. But I was on a slow road to recovery and I wasn't going to die. So smiles all round.
From that day on, I struggled with food, never eating enough food. always trying to avoid food one way of another. I'm not sure why? But after a few years of me not eating and being a general pain in the butt, for my mum and dad, they had me referred me to a dietitian, I was dragged of to this one and that one , but me being me a stubborn pain never took the supplements they gave me or my peanut oil the all tasted odd, I was convinced, I would be sick if I had taken them. I now wish I had and I would have put weight on. (hindsight a wonderful thing) The struggle continued all the way through school. I wasn't worried about putting on weight at all that never really concerned me. I failed to ever maintain much weight and remained a skinny child and teenager. I just hated feeling full, so I'd eat as little as possible. If I had food left over, Id either throw it away when no one was looking, or Id hide it so as not to finish it. I think my brain confused feeling full or satisfied with, your going to throw up and so I'd rarely finish meals . . I'm no psychologist, but this is the only reason I can think of why I wouldn't eat properly.
I've Inserted a photo below, this was me about four year ago, so I was just 20 and I believe this was me at my skinniest!
Your probably wondering how my story has anything to do with the video I linked above?
Well during my child-hood and now into my adult life. I've had my fair share of criticism
and comments about my weight and appearance, some from well meaning relatives who where showing genuine concern and some where flippant comments from random members of the public.
these how ever they are said where untrue and hurtful. My mum and dad where obviously concerned for my well being and would encourage me to eat, This now that I'm older I'm extremely grateful for.
But the other comments I had from people I shall list but a few below really did upset me.
Stay with me a week we'll fatten you up you don't look like you've eaten a proper meal in your life
go eat a sandwich look at you your stick thin.
push you over you'd snap what you live on celery?
you'll wash away down a plug whole one of these days,
And here comes the cracker. this was from a lady in a changing rooms of a well known clothes shop
'' you want a smaller size - you are disgustingly thin. look at you. you should be ashamed to come out in public you put people of there shopping''
this really upset me. (I can only assumed she didn't reach her target at weight watchers that week.)
I have been held back from activities at college because I wasn't deemed strong enough to fulfil the tasks. ( I was at Equine college carrying twice the amount of feed on my shoulders than the other students but what ever!!)
I have even been threatened with my job as my boss was convinced that I was anorexia. thanks for that assumption! well done. and forced me to eat infront of other members of staff of I'd get the sack! not sure how he'd work that in a work tribunal but there we go!
The point is that the term of the illness Anorexia is such a big label to stick on someone, Anorexia or Bulimia is and eating disorder as well as an mental illness. And those suffering with such affliction should be treated with the utmost respect and tenderness, as it's at such a time when they are as there most vulnerable and most self conscious.
So then to Label someone so quickly with the term anorexic just because they appear under weight, does not then mean that they are. And that poeple should be free of such prejudice. Just as much as some-one who is over weight, should just go on a diet. There is no quick fix solution to these issues. That person you may make a comment to, may well already be feeling extreamly self conscous and have low self asteem, there is enough in the world to bring us down we shouldn't then go out to pick wholes in our fellow human beings. encourage each other to enjoy the bodies we have been give and to cherish it and look after it.
Thank you for reading this.
To Olivia. If you are reading this, Girl, you are gorgeous and beautiful. You had guts to get up on camera and make that video. I did one and deleted it, because of all the hate, I would get now that you have done it, I will upload mine very soon .thank you for the Inspiration.x
