My true confession: I overcame eating disorder
When I was young, say eight or nine years old, I used to eat red bricks,
pencils, swallow chewing gums and my finger nail pieces.
I lived my childhood mainly on fried foods like fried potatoes, fried cauliflower and fried lady’s finger.
I drank aerated soft drinks almost daily.
I aspired to become a model. It was the fad or the so called “in thing” then. I used to tie tight ropes around my waist at nights so that it remains thin and of the size 26 centimeters or less.
When I entered
college, I stopped eating completely every night for almost three months. I did so to remain thin and also because I had exam pressure on my head. I feared failing even in a single subject.
The actual eating disorder
problem and its symptoms started to show up at this time. I started losing ample amounts of my hair, I used to get so dizzy that I used to fall unconscious, my weight dropped to almost 46 kgs when ideally I should have weighed 50-54 kgs, I had irregular menstrual cycle and i suffered from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
When I entered for my H.S.C University Board exams, my eating disorder problem remained. I never eat regularly in small meals due to too much of study pressure.
I cleared my board exams successfully.
But fell into another problem. I joined an international call centre to earn some green paper (money). My body was not trained to eat at nights after 12 A.M and before 8 A.M. Unfortunately my working timings fell into this category. So, I never ate even for a single day for one month during my tenure in this call centre. I survived on coffees and teas only.
When I joined the degree course doing my mass media in Sion, Mumbai, I was so scared to eat anything from outside fearing that I will fall ill again. So I did not eat at all from my college canteen for my first two years in the college. I ate only home cooked food and starved the rest of the day until I reached home.
Due to this course being practical, I did not have to sit at one place for hours together to mug up my subjects. I got free time for myself. I started exercising, reading health books, eating healthy food and sleeping every night for atleast six hours daily.
From past two years I have been on the road to recovery health wise.
Today, I feel confident in my body, mind and soul.
I urge people to give right directions to children at a very young age. Make sure to tell children not to consume harmful chemicals that are bad for human body. Do NOT take a child’s health for granted, thinking that he/she will learn as they grow. No children can’t.
Not unless you give them the right guidance.
Written by Madhu Ahuja.