Elene

Elene’s earliest memories of making herself sick are from the age 8 and she was diagnosed with bulimia nervosa at 15. Through working her negative thinking in counselling and the responsibility of a university course, Elene turned things around for herself.

The earliest memories Elene has of making herself sick are from when she was 8. All her childhood, Elene’s mum was preoccupie with her and her siblings; weight, weighing Elene and putting her on diets. Elene became terrifie of eating and started making herself sick many times a day. She didn’t feel cared for by her parents, and felt that she was always being compared to her older sister.

Elene remembers always being unhappy and blaming everything that went wrong on being fat and ugl. She developed early and had her period at a young age which she also found difficult to deal with it. When she started boarding school at 13, her problems soon became apparent to the staff. Elene describes her life at the boarding school as boring and controlled with very little to do but worry about eating and go to the gym. At 15, she was diagnosed with bulimia. Elene describes things really getting out of control when she got into trouble with boys, sex and drug, also at a young age. Elene says she was completely reckles and didn’t care about the consequences of her actions. Having felt rejected for so long, she says taking drugs made her feel part of a crow.

Things started changing for Elene when she got accepted to a top university. For the first time, she describes having something to los. Having more responsibilities and heavy work load meant that she had to stay on top of things. She is a very talented classical singer and performing on stage has been the one thing which has boosted her confidence and made her feel great about herself. She currently sees a University counsellor occasionally to work through her negative thoughts and body issues. Elene says she would never go on a diet again after having been hungry for so lon.

When Elene was entrenched in her eating disorder, her therapist couldn’t change her belief that…

Age at interview 20

Gender Female

Age at diagnosis 15

Elene had cuts on her knuckles from purging. It also gave her sore throat and caused damage to…

Age at interview 20

Gender Female

Age at diagnosis 15

Getting a place in a top university was a big motivator for Elene to get better. For the first…

Age at interview 20

Gender Female

Age at diagnosis 15

Elene felt like a phoney when she was diagnosed with bulimia nervosa. She felt guilty for her…

Age at interview 20

Gender Female

Age at diagnosis 15