Beat Bulimia, Binge Eating & Anxiety. School of Rock Bottom 2: Kelly Wenham

[TW//Eating disorders, Bulimia, Binge Eating, Anxiety, Body Image, Suicide] 1.25 million people in the UK struggle with eating disorders such as bulimia and binge eating. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental health conditions. Suicide is the major cause of death, with those suffering with bulimia 7 x more likely to commit suicide.  Today I welcome Kelly Wenham who is an accomplished actress, voice over artist, writer and director. At the age of 16, she landed the role of Jess Buckley on the smash hit ITV drama 'Where The Heart Is' which she appeared as a series regular for 4 years and has been working in the industry ever since. Kelly's journey starts as a teenager landing a modelling opportunity in Japan that triggers a slow and dangerous decent into chronic bulimia that nearly takes her life on more than one occasion. Kelly spends her twenties in and out of recovery desperately looking for a solution that seems out of reach. She never gives up despite her struggles and finally finds a solution that works for her to break free. Kelly is a bulimia survivor, a hero and an inspiration. I cannot thank Kelly enough for opening up so honestly to help others. If you are affected by the sensitive content or are looking for useful resources, Kelly recommends contacting Julie Kerr @ www.bulimiafree.com and the following books 👇   'Brain Over Binge' by Kathryn Hansen and 'Women, Food and God' by Geneene Roth. Topics - 0:00 Intro 3:42 Kelly's rock bottom 8:10 More rock bottoms 9:32 Puberty & coping with dyslexia 11:30 Kelly starts modelling at 14 17:57 The slippery slope to Bulimia 19:08 The start of bulimia 21:53 Getting into acting 26:35 Why acting didn't cure bulimia 31:50 Bulimia getting worse and addiction to purging 36:48 The role of sugar and foods 40:30 Reaching out for help but really struggling 49:40 Finding solutions 59:30 Dealing with rejection as an actor 1:04 What would you say to your younger self?   This Podcast is not for profit but my goal is to break even. To help me make more please donate here. Thank you! https://bit.ly/3kSucAs Follow Kelly - Instagram - http://bit.ly/3JjHWhm TikTok - http://bit.ly/3Zwy2hL Follow Oliver - Instagram - https://bit.ly/3IemHLY Twitter - http://bit.ly/3GQYj2l Facebook - http://bit.ly/3w8S1Gx LinkedIn - http://bit.ly/3kp4ymC TikTok - https://bit.ly/3YGLsYm Listen or watch on - YouTube - http://bit.ly/3ZHrVYi Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3Z0Pr1r Apple - https://apple.co/41IrJt4 or search 'School of Rock Bottom' where you listen to your podcasts. About this podcast - Welcome to the School Of Rock Bottom Podcast with Oliver Mason. I work as an actor, voice-over artist, Performing Arts School Principal and a Mental Health Coach. It's these careers and passions combined that have inspired this podcast! People working in the entertainment and performing arts industry are twice as likely to experience depression, are up to 15x more likely to suffer from anxiety and those working across all the creative industries are 3x more likely to suffer a mental health problem. In this podcast, we invite creatives who have lived through a rock bottom but have survived! These stories need to be heard to help others realise that no matter how bad things seem there is hope and always a way out. We will also be discussing how to protect your mental health whilst working within the creative industries.