How to identify an eating disorder and find hope

In her latest video, plus-sized model and vlogger Yumi, together with her friend Christina Boudreau, open up about something rarely talked about publicly but often experienced privately: eating disorders.

“A lot of people go a large portion of their lives not knowing they have an eating disorder,” Yumi explains. So, she asks Christina to identify when her quest for losing a few pounds actually turned into something more.

“What started as a diet to be more popular at school or to get that boy I liked to like me turned into anorexia by the fifth grade,” Christina admits. “I remember throwing up my food sometimes eight times a day, drinking three cups of coffee a day and taking drugs to stay thin.”

It was a mental illness combined with a vicious, habitual cycle that eventually led Christina to attempt suicide.

“I wanted an escape,” Christina continues. “It wasn’t until my dad sat me down one day and…explained to me ‘this is what an eating disorder is’ that I was able to go from there and get counseling.”

“I think every girl, in some point of her life, has gone through that process of just being like, ‘Why don’t I look like that person?’” Yumi adds. “You get frustrated and you kind of beat yourself up. It’s so common.”

So common, in fact, Christina wants to offer some advice. If you or someone you know might be struggling with an eating disorder, her first note is to remember that recovery is a process. Next, she stresses the importance of learning to love who you are as a person.

“When I began to value who I was as a person…wholeness and healing began happening in my life,” Christina explains.

Watch the video above for the rest of Christina’s advice. Most important? Know you’re not alone, there’s always hope and there is an answer.