At the age of 12 , I was diagnosed with Anorexia. Due to this I missed out on so much including dropping out of school & college, not being able to hold down on jobs, stopping sport, losing friends + most importantly, losing the person I once was. It took such a hold on me and when I was 15, I went into hospital for 5-6 months, having my 16th birthday there.
After a few months into my anorexia diagnosis, I started to developed clinical depression and even though I tried my hardest to make it look like I was alright, deep down I knew that how I was feeling/thinking, wasn't normal. Along with having Depression, anorexia took a massive grip on my life and piece by piece, began to destroy every part of my life.
Despite all of the help I was given, it was one relapse after another and nor me or my family knew what to do. I honestly felt like I was going to be stuck like this. So many things have happened throughout being ill that you would of thought would be enough for me to get better...Not even a friend who died of the same illness did anything... Even the health risks didn't do it! I got diagnosed with Osteopena (stage before osteoporosis), losing my hair and not to mention my mental state which was wrecked. I couldn't sleep and that had a massive effect on daily life on top of me not eating.
I suffered so much physically & mentally to the point where if I didn't make some drastic changes, I wouldn't have made my 20th birthday.
In March 2016 I met an amazing lady called Joanna Nowak who is a personal trainer at Bradley Stoke Leisure centre. She wanted to be my life coach at first by adding stuff into my diet, doing light exercises and just to have someone to talk to. 18 months on and my god how much things have changed.
She created this blog post about me! =
https://dreamprofitness.com/anorexia-survivor-sophie
2017 has been a world wind of emotions, experiences and my strength, confidence & self esteem is improving day by day. Joanna is supportive, funny, inspiring and words cannot explain how much of an effect she has had on me and continues to do so. If I hadn't of met Joanna, I wouldn't of made my 20th birthday and I still pinch myself to this day that I am alive. She is more than just a personal trainer to me, I class her as a true friend for life ;)
I can finally say that after 9 years of suffering. I'm on the right track now and all I want to do now is keep eating, training and getting stronger along with the amazing support system I now have! ;)
Eating disorders are very dangerous and have a massive affect on the whole family. Because of what I know and have experienced, I want to give back to this charity and help as many people as possible. The more awareness we have on mental illness, the more people can get help and not suffer in silence without feeling judged!
Throughout 2018, I will be holding events such as Bake Sales, doing the Bradley Stoke 10k, Fun days at SGS Filton College, quizzes, fitness classes and many more! Along with also selling Beat wristbands, I will also be giving out leaflets & public speaking in order to not only share my story but to raise awareness for an illness that still to this day, has a massive stigma attached to it. All of the money will go to Beat who are an eating disorder charity close to my heart.
I really want to reach my goal of £3,000 so I would be so grateful for everyone to share this page with everyone on social media, mention it to friends and family and any donation that you give, I and many others would be incredibly grateful!
My Fundraising page will not only give updates to people on upcoming events, it will give anyone who maybe suffering some motivation & inspiration int recovery because lets face it, if I can do it then so can others.
Being in recovery is one of the most hardest, scariest places to be in but let me tell you.....It is so worth it and once you get out of that black hole, you will not only look back with no regrets but you will become a much stronger, wiser person for it :)
Life is full of unimaginable opportunities & experiences just waiting for you to grab with both hands. Don't let your eating disorder win. Its taken so much of your life already. Don't do what I did and get to the stage of nearly losing your life. It's not worth it.
Please don't give up & KEEP FIGHTING!
Follow me via Facebook= Sophie Mitchell - Anorexia Survivor & Fundraiser for Beat
Sophie Mitchell xxx
