Advertisement
Roz Purcell Shares Her Story A...

News & Sport

Roz Purcell Shares Her Story As Eating Disorders Surge During Lockdown

Newsroom
Newsroom

02:06 26 Jan 2021


Share this article


"I only cared about what weight I was".

Influencer, author, model and mother to dog Willay has opened up about her struggles with eating disorders.

"I couldn't have a proper relationship with my family with my friends with boyfriends  because I only cared about weight I was."

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by R O Z (@rozannapurcell)

The founder of "The Hike Life" said she struggled being there for a friend or being in the moment.

"I was always thinking about what was I going to do when I'm around food next."

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by R O Z (@rozannapurcell)

There was a 66 percent increase in eating disorder hospital admissions during the pandemic in Ireland last year, compared to 2019.

According to an article in the Irish Medical Journal, possible reasons include; distress and anxiety relating to Covid-19, the impact of restrictions and the loss of protective factors.

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric disorder.

 

Roz, who has "complete food freedom now", is encouraging others to seek help.

"To anyone who thinks their stuck, who feels likes help won't work for them, that their incurable and thinking that's just who you are, go and get expert help."

She said only then can you "actually become who you're meant to be."

In addition, eating disorder charity, Bodywhys, reported a 110% increase in service users on its online support groups.

Harriet Parsons, from Bodywhys, says the pandemic was particularly tough on people with disordered eating:

"Since march and the first lockdown what we've seen is a change to people's routines and general anxiety levels go up."

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Bodywhys (@bodywhys)

"We've seen people being afraid of relapse and people -who were on that edge- tip over to an eating disorder."

Bodywhys say they've seen a "huge increase" in the number of people using their services.

 


Share this article


Read more about

Bodywhys Eating Disorder Roz Purcell