this talk: is about exposing vulnerabilities and taking back control - with Dave Cottrell
As a child I was bullied for my intelligence, from this I developed an eating disorder (non-purge bulimia) which in turn lead to me putting on a lot of weight. Next, I was bullied for being fat.
I hid my feelings in food for over a decade before finally beginning to put my health first. But then I got lost in something else, I got lost in fitness.
The fitness industry is a great place to hide an eating disorder, and also a great place to hide mental health. I trained as a Personal Trainer and all the while feeling the immense pressure to live up to what I "should" look like.
This kept me occupied for a time and I felt as if my mental and physical health both improved greatly. Until I stepped back and saw that the health and fitness industry thrived on insecurity.
I created this video in response to phrases like "summer body" and "beach ready" for Mental Health Awareness Week 2019, where the theme was body image.
The purpose of the video is to show that loving ourselves is an inside job and that we can't be shamed about that which we are not ashamed.