Anorexia victim tells of fight to beat illness

LAUREN Jackson’s wedding day marked more of a new beginning than for most brides.

As loved ones saw the beaming, healthy bride walk down the aisle of the small church in Peebles, in the Borders, it was proof she had finally recovered from the illness that two years before had left her body painfully emaciated and turned her from a gregarious young woman into a near-recluse.

Ms Jackson, 23, said: “When Peter proposed, that was a big focus because I knew I didn’t want to have anorexia for my wedding. The first day I was free of the illness was the day I got married.”

Today, to help encourage others to seek help, Ms Jackson will launch Re-capture, a photography exhibition on the theme of recovery, at the City Art Gallery, Edinburgh, which moves to the Scottish Parliament building next week. It has been put together by people who have suffered from eating disorders.

She said: “The photos would break your heart but are also fantastically inspiring.”

Ms Jackson’s battle began when she moved to Edinburgh to study music at Napier University. Her course was predominantly male, and she struggled to fit in, missing close female friendships.

Although she ate three meals a day, the amounts of food were tiny and she began eating, and exercising, in secret.

She said: “When I went back to university in my third year, that was when it got really bad. Nobody was watching what I was eating so I completely cut down. I lost a dramatic amount of weight and was over-exercising as well.”

Already petite, she lost several stones and her hair and skin became bad. Once into amateur theatre, she abandoned hobbies and stopped going out with friends. Surviving on minimal calories meant she could only study in the mornings and was in bed by 7pm.

Her grades also suffered. Finally, after her mother and flatmate begged her to get help, she broke down and acknowledged she had a problem.

She says: “I didn’t want to be thin, so I couldn’t understand why I was like this.”

Just before her 21st birthday, she began treatment at NHS Lothian’s Cullen Centre in Edinburgh. Slowly, with the support of her family, including her sister Emma Knox, 21, she began to regain weight and was able to graduate.

Today she lives with her husband in Glasgow, where she has a new job as a youth worker and is hoping to start a family one day.

For more information go to www.re-captureproject.com

Article source: http://www.apa.org/news/psycport/PsycPORTArticle.aspx?id=bhsuper_2012_02_21_HRLD_0000-0141-KEYWORD.Missing.xml