How Anorexia Starts & Ends. School of Rock Bottom 50: Sophie Anderson

Anorexia isn't just about body image, social media and even control. Today, I welcome anorexia survivor Sophie Anderson who was hospitalised for months aged 12 for anorexia and is now 15 years in recovery! Today we uncover the hidden truths, damaging myths & misconceptions about anorexia and find recovery in the connections to addiction, trauma, family dynamics, genetics, emotional pain and finding the joy in food and who you really are. Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness, with 5-20% of those affected dying from medical complications or suicide. On average, individuals may be unwell for 8 years before recovery, with 20% remaining chronically unwell. But this certainly isn’t solely a story of struggle-it’s a journey of finding strength, purpose and a wonderful life. Nearly half of those who battle anorexia make a full recovery, and this episode proves that healing is possible. Please share with anyone struggling. More on Sophie - Sophie is a social and political activist working in international development and youth mental health, whose rock bottom came at just 12 years old when she was hospitalised for Anorexia. Eventually achieving a full recovery, Sophie went on to study Politics and International Relations at the University of Bristol where she earned the Politics’ Prize for best academic performance in the year and cemented her dedication to affecting wide-scale social change. She is proud to have recently provided opening remarks for a parliamentary roundtable on youth mental health/services with the Minister for Mental Health. Podcasting is an expensive passion. To help me keep going, I'd really appreciate it if you could buy me a coffee, thank you! https://buymeacoffee.com/olivermason1 Or via PayPal - https://bit.ly/3kSucAs Topics - 0:00 Intro 3:55 Sophie's rock bottom 8:05 When did Sophie realise it was anorexia? 10:05 Was Sophie aware of it escalating as a child? 13:35 Anorexia felt safe and it numbed emotions 16:35 Sophie's view of anorexia 22:05 Myths and misconceptions 29:35 Why anorexia is like addiction 33:20 Do people with anorexia like food? 36:55 Sophie's recovery journey & healing 45:15 ADHD 48:05 Sophie's relationship with food now Sophie received support from: Eating Matters (Norwich), Cruise Bereavement (National) & The Bridge (Bristol). Follow Sophie Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sophiee.anderson Follow Oliver Instagram - https://bit.ly/3IemHLY Facebook - http://bit.ly/3w8S1Gx TikTok - https://bit.ly/3YGLsYm LinkedIn - http://bit.ly/3kp4ymC Threads - https://bit.ly/3svw7yL X - http://bit.ly/3GQYj2l Please subscribe, follow, like, leave a review and comment! YouTube - https://bit.ly/4jbvZdo Spotify - https://bit.ly/4air4TL Apple - https://apple.co/3PajZvQ Lastly, if you are interested in performing arts and incredible stories and journeys you must check out Matthew Jones' excellent podcast 'Life After Jazz Hands' here - https://bit.ly/4iQ7Nxa #AnorexiaRecovery #MentalHealthAwareness #EatingDisordersHelp