A little bit about me
(this could include things like your gender, age, type of eating disorder, role, - whatever you feel comfortable sharing)
I am a 29-year-old Bisexual female. I currently work as a university tutor, and I am in recovery from Bulimia Nervosa. I initially had been diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa in 2012 and had recovered in 2014. I was then diagnosed with Bulimia Nervosa in 2018 after struggling to cope with being bullied.
How I started to get help
(this could include steps you took, who supported you etc)
I was reluctant to get help as for the most part I found that making myself sick made me feel quite safe and I couldn’t imagine finding a substitute for this that would give me that feeling of safety. I suppose what made me question getting help was thinking that I may be Bulimic for life. I had been very private about my Bulimia, and I went to extreme efforts to hide it so the idea of asking people for support would be like asking somebody to help you with a problem they didn’t know you had. Over time my health started to worsen, and I had been admitted for a procedure related to gastric symptoms and that was my turning point. I knew that I needed specialist help but in Ireland unfortunately private treatment is only an option if you can pay for it. I was exceptionally lucky to put it mildly that my ex long term partner insisted on paying for private residential treatment. I will always be eternally grateful for her support and although I felt that residential treatment was not initially successful elements of it definitely helped me on my recovery journey.