Diagnosed
As soon as my diet began at age 10, no one knew what was up…except me.
I dieted for 6 months straight—avoiding as much fat as possible—before anyone realized something deeper was going on.
My eyes got dark circles around them, my skin became pale, hair started falling out in the shower, and an odd peach fuzz type hair began to grow on my body…Finally, when I was “diagnosed,” my identity QUICKLY transitioned to “Lauryn…that girl with an eating disorder,” and my parents tried everything they knew how to get me to eat.
Within a matter of weeks, the doctors sent me to the hospital, telling me, “Lauryn, you could die from this.” (Words that would quickly fall on deaf ears. I was young! Why did they want to take my goals away from me to just be pretty and popular?!). This hospitalization was the first of more than a dozen more to come.