Eating disorder 'stole my spark and personality'

Hattie Whitman hit rock bottom when her eating disorder began ruining her daily life and she realised she needed help.

"Anorexia is such a misunderstood mental illness. I had no idea when I was struggling that I was struggling," she said.

The 22-year-old from Guernsey began documenting her recovery from anorexia on social media in 2024 to "hold myself accountable" and now has more than 70k followers on Instagram and 145k on TikTok.

She described sharing her journey as a "privilege" and said she hoped to encourage more awareness of eating disorders.

Whitman said when she left Guernsey to go to university in the UK the environmental change was "like the last straw".

"I'd been struggling for a while before that, but I didn't really know how badly and then it got to a place where no one had any vigilance over me," she said.

"As the illness takes hold it gets more and more restrictive over time and... you end up getting to a place where you've lost complete control of your own life and it's completely taken over."

She said when she came home for Christmas she "went to the fridge and I was like, there's just nothing in this fridge that I'm not scared of".

"At that point I had to tell my mum."

Whitman said it it took a lot of courage to reach out for support.

"I was at that point - I wasn't Hattie - I was just anorexia... Every part of my spark and my personality had gone."

In August 2024 Whitman began posting on Instagram on her Healing Hattie account.

"I just thought I need to put it somewhere and then hold myself accountable on this, build a little community so that we can all help one another," Whitman said.

She said finding other people online who were going through the same thing and understood, helped with her recovery.

"It gives you a sense of purpose when your whole entire purpose has been shrinking yourself."

She added: "It always hits me the most when I get emails from parents and they'll be like - you've helped my daughter so much, or my son so much."

She added: "To be combating that rather than contributing to that is just makes me really happy."

UK eating disorder charity Beat says eating disorders are a devastating mental illnesses which can have a huge impact on those experiencing them.

Deputy chief executive Tom Quinn said: "If you're worried about yourself or a loved one, the first thing to do is contact your GP immediately or encourage them to reach out themselves if they're an adult."

Quinn urged people to remember they were "deserving of the right support".

He said: "We often hear from people worried about wasting the GP's time or that they aren't ill enough for help.

"In fact, getting treated early will give you the very best chance of making a full recovery, so don't hesitate."

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC's Action Line.

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