26yo Canberra woman’s surprising diagnosis

A 26-year-old has opened up about the devastating eating disorder she suffered for years, despite not looking sick at all.

Woman, 26, battled with atypical anorexia for a decade. Picture: Supplied

A 26-year-old woman has revealed how she suffered from an eating disorder for a decade – but she didn’t look how people would “expect” a person with anorexia to look.

Jane Sullivan, based in the ACT, can trace her eating disorder back to her turbulent childhood, with certain people in her life focused on her weight.

“I was a pretty normal looking child with maybe a little puppy fat at different stages, but definitely nothing to be worried about,” Jane told news.com.au.

“But hearing that kind of negative stuff a lot over time, really impacted me.

“And by the time I was nine, which I know from keeping a journal, I was exhibiting a really distinct eating disorder, or disordered eating behaviours, which stuck around for more than 10 years for me.

Jane Sullivan, based in the ACT, can trace her eating disorder back to her turbulent childhood. Picture: Supplied

Jane suffered from atypical anorexia, where she would avoid meals entirely or intensely restrict food, but without any extreme weight loss or low body weight.

She said the fact that she didn’t look like people expect someone with anorexia to look empowered her to stay sick for so long – even though she knew what she was doing wasn’t “normal”.

Jane was given positive feedback when she would display disordered eating habits, such as restricting portion size or skipping a meal entirely when others were eating.

“The first time I heard about eating disorders was in high school health class, and the teacher said that the problem with anorexia is that you can get too skinny and you die,” Jane said.

“I remember, I was in a really sick phase, because [it] sort of came and went in severity, and thinking, ‘Oh, well, that’s fine then, I’m not too skinny and about to die. I’ll just keep doing it.’”

There were some others in Jane’s life who made constant comments regarding her appearance, saying they were concerned for her health because she was “too fat”.

‘Hungry all the time’

Over a decade, Jane suffered through her eating disorder, battling a plethora of health issues such as severe nutritional and vitamin deficiencies which impact her body to this day.

But then, after 10 years, she found herself in her GP’s office.

Jane was there seeking help in relation to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of her childhood.

“I wasn’t going to keep getting better if I didn’t deal with the fact that being hungry all the time was affecting my mood,” Jane said.

“I was so nervous, because at that point, I didn’t even know if you could get treatment for an eating disorder.

Jane didn’t realise she had an eating disorder for years. Picture: Supplied

“I knew that you could be hospitalised for it, but I didn’t want to be hospitalised. I went into my doctor and asked her about it.

“Thankfully, she was really receptive to that. [She] straight up believed me, even though I was, at that point, quite fat.”

Jane was living in regional Victoria when she was first seeking help, and her initial treatment was cobbled together based on what was available.

She said it was difficult to find clinicians experienced with eating disorders, with one psychologist refusing to believe she didn’t binge due to her weight.

“I did eventually get a group of people who could treat me who I trusted and believed and supported me in the right way,” Jane said.

“And it was a long process involving a whole bunch of different professionals such as dietitians, psychologists [and] a doctor.

“You don’t realise all the systems in your body that can be affected when you start developing an eating disorder, and then at the end, you can be quite sick [from the disorder].”

She eventually moved to the ACT, finding a medical team that worked for her.

It’s now been five years since Jane went to her doctor for help, and she said it was unbelievable how far she had come.

Jane was given positive feedback when she would display disordered eating habits. Picture: Supplied

“I was recently confronted by the fact that I actually have a really easy and natural relationship with food now, which is something [I never thought] would happen,” she said.

“I can eat when I’m hungry and eat enough and feel comfortable and get on with my day, which felt like something that would never happen.

“When I started my recovery, my goal was just to eat enough to get by and I had no expectation of ever enjoying food,” she said.

“I just wanted it to be functional. It’s great to be here.”

Summer of Kindness over body image

Jane shares her story as part of The Butterfly Foundation’s Summer of Kindness campaign, which aims to target seasonal body image pressures.

For instance, a third of Australian woman say they avoid wearing a swimsuit in public due to concerns about their body.

It also comes with increased social occasions, with more food consumed.

Dr Ranjani Utpala, Butterfly’s clinical director, said: “Warm weather typically means less clothing and for people dealing with body image issues this can lead to a hyper-focus on their body, feelings of social anxiety and for some may even result in obsessive body checking behaviours.

“This becomes further compounded by pressure from peers, media and social media to look a certain way, encouraging appearance-based comparisons.”

Dr Utpala said during two years of Covid lockdowns, there was an increase in eating disorder presentations and, seeing friends or family for the first time during the summer while in recovery, can pose risks.