Cathy Scott
Bald for Beat 2021
Fundraising for Beat
Story
This December, I will be going Bald for Beat!
10 years ago this month (October), I was admitted to my first in-patient stay at an eating disorder unit. I had to defer my entry to university, and take time out to get myself well.
The journey since has been very up and down – I started at University of York in 2012, but after struggling along for two years, took a leave of absence and was once again admitted to hospital. I was in a different place this time. Although it was a much longer stay in hospital, I was finally doing it for me. Since I was discharged in 2015, I’ve started dancing, completed an undergraduate degree, and now work in a job that I love.
It’s not been an easy road. Recovery isn’t a straight line, and there have been points when I've wondered whether I can keep going. For many experiencing eating disorders and other mental health issues, the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have been a real challenge. I have found this too, but I’m incredibly privileged to have had the support of a wonderful therapist and dietitian who’ve helped me to find my feet and keep moving forwards, to the point where I’m now the healthiest and happiest I’ve been in a long time.
In my work, I regularly advocate that we need to hear and listen deeply to those who have experienced, or are facing, challenges in their lives. There’s so much wisdom to be gained from listening to what people have gone through, and potential to learn and become better human beings as a result. I truly believe that by doing this, we can ultimately create a society that’s better for everyone.
So, I’m finally being brave this October 31st, and stepping into this world of sharing my experience. In doing so, I hope this is an opportunity to celebrate life – with all its ups and downs. I want to raise awareness of the challenges faced by individuals experiencing an eating disorder, and their loved ones supporting them; I want to challenge the stigma faced by those who experience mental health problems; and I want to raise important funds for a charity that goes above and beyond to support those experiencing eating disorders, as well as their friends and family.
Finally, I want to say thank you to those who’ve supported me along the way - I wouldn’t be here today without you.
I will leave you with a poem that, at many points, has given me hope and strength to keep pushing on.
The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
