The INSIDER Summary:
- Christie Begnell developed anorexia at age 20.
- She started drawing to express what living with and recovering from an eating disorder is like.
- She shares her art on Instagram and in her new book, "Me and My ED," to destigmatize the disease.
When Christie Begnell began sharing her drawings on Instagram, she realized how helpful they could be in explaining the reality of what is often a misunderstood disease.
Having developed anorexia at 20 years old, she used art to illustrate her relationship with "Ana." Now 24, she's compiled more than 60 of her drawings into a book called "Me and My ED" to show what having and recovering from an eating disorder is really like.
Begnell spoke to INSIDER via email about her journey.
Christie Begnell is an occupational therapist living in Sydney, Australia.
She struggled with depression and anxiety through her adolescence, which worsened when her parents split and she broke up with a long-term boyfriend.
Dieting and calorie counting to meet weight loss goals gave her a sense of control.
"I became obsessed with exercise and finding ways to lose weight," she said. "It became a way of distracting from all the pain and loneliness and it gave me a purpose again ... I got a high off setting myself goals and achieving them."
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