When Chiara Schober was young, she started controlling her food intake.
She quickly found herself in the throes of anorexia, a very serious and sometimes even fatal eating disorder.
Chiara struggled with the eating disorder for years and years. She hated herself and battled with her own mind daily. The teen was horribly underweight and dangerously ill, but she couldn't see how sick she really was.
After three years of wasting away, Chiara started seeing a therapist and a doctor. Eventually, she was hospitalized for nine months. This was what finally started her recovery process. Of course, it was by no means an overnight solution.
It took a full seven years for Chiara to finally feel that she was in control of her eating disorder, and not the other way around.
Now, Chiara is a mental-health warrior who shares her story on Instagram. When bullies started claiming she had faked her anorexia photos, Chiara knew just what to say to shut them down.
[H/T: Daily Mail]
On October 8, 2017, Chiara shared a side-by-side photo of her at 16 and her now.
She wrote:
There are people who claim my transformation pics were Photoshopped.
Either bc they don’t realise iphone 4 existed, either bc my jawline looks different or even my haircolour or bc I don’t have stretchmarks, whatever.
On the left you see a picture from when I was SIXTEEN, 1% bodyfat, weak body – right I am four years older, I weight more than DOUBLE the amount, I am completely recovered by now.
Obviously, I look different now? How would you expect someone who’s close to death look like?
My story is not fake and I'm tired of defending myself to those people. I already regret my past enough, I don't need people to say it was fake and I was only attention seeking.
The reason why I decided to share my story was a) to help and motivate others, to give them hope and b) to raise awareness which seems more urgent than I thought.
Anorexia is a severe and COMPLEX mental illness that destroys yourself, your body.
It’s got the highest death rate among other mental illnesses. It’s real. It’s terrible. No one will ever understand if they never experienced it themselves.
Recovery is hard. Recovery takes time! It took me 4 years, one of them in hospital, to gain back the weight and to recover mentally.
Just stop saying it was fake.
That's an insult for me, my family who suffered so much and my friends who couldn't do anything to help me. Anorexia exists.
Chiara's followers immediately jumped in to back her up and share their support for her.
One person wrote: "I'm really happy you recovered and got better. Mental illness can be tough, but so are you. Thank you for inspiring us with your story, I'm so glad to hear it."
Another follower wrote:
This is so powerful. I’m finally in recovery and as I come across amazing stories that took courage to share I feel so blessed.
It's so hard to put yourself out there. Thank you so much! It just adds strength to those who need it when they feel alone in the struggle and control. Keep thriving girl!
Eating disorders are very serious and need to be treated as the scary diseases that they are.
We need people like Chiara in this world to help those who suffer from eating disorders find inspiration.
If you're blown away by Chiara's strength and courage, please SHARE this article with your friends!
If you or someone you know is suffering from an eating disorder, contact the National Eating Disorders Association helpline.
