When I was 19 I became so anemic I needed 4 pints of blood via transfusion. My platelets were low as well and the ER doc said that if I had gotten hit hard enough in the head I would have bled to death internally. She said a car accident or softball accident would have done it. I didn’t know I was even sick prior to that day.

At 21 I passed out and fell down a flight of stairs. I also backed my partner’s car into a dumpster. I also failed out of college. Twice.

At 23 I had a hypoglycemic episode while driving and wrecked my car. I could have easily killed myself or other people. My blood sugar stayed low enough that I had seizures in my sleep until I got into treatment.

I often feel like I flushed my 20s and young adult life down the toilet for my ED. I also weight cycled to a MUCH higher weight, so if I’d just given it up when I became aware of it in high school I likely wouldn’t have gained so much in recovery.

Engaging with your ED is playing fire. Your body cannot do it forever. You’re young and your prefrontal cortex is not fully developed. It will develop in the next 10 years and you don’t want to wake up able to think about your future only to realize you’ve done irreparable damage to your body. That’s what I’ve done.