Connie Inglis was hospitalized, hooked to a feeding tube because of her eating disorder in December, 2015. This wasn’t her first time in the hospital, actually it was third and she was dangerously underweight. Connie had a severe case of anorexia, that she couldn’t see at the time.
“At the beginning of [2016] I was sectioned under the mental health act and spent six months in hospital barely existing. I was discharged when my weight was OK and I was ‘not a health risk’ and I completely gave up. I tried to take my life. And when that didn’t work I tried the only other thing I could think of… I joined Instagram and the recovery community, ” explains Connie.
She started sharing her story on Instagram and that really helped her get stronger. She managed to go from a girl with an eating disorder to an eating disorder recovery hero.
“I honestly didn’t expect anything, but I started to follow people in similar positions as me and I was so inspired. I saw people posting pictures of there food, challenging themselves EVERY SINGLE DAY! Getting out of bed, always trying, being real,” she said.
She followed many body positive pages on Instagram and they really helped to accept herself. Those posts taught her that this is happiness after an eating disorder.
“I got something from starting this account that I’d never found anywhere else… HOPE,” she stated. And after spending her entire life surrounded by images of what a woman’s body “should be,” she has finally come to accept what she calls “my kind of beautiful. When I was 10 I got told I had to be thin,” she wrote in a recent post. “When I was 14, I got told I had to be fit and lean. When I was 16 I got told I had to be ‘sexy.’ When I turned 20 I got told curvy was the new thing… ‘But don’t forget it has to be the right kind of curvy! But even though I tried for years I’ve never been ‘the right kind of beautiful’. So screw it. I’m going to be MY KIND OF BEAUTIFUL!” she concluded. “I’ll be cute. I’ll rock those little boobs. I’ll dye my hair all the colors and get the tattoos I love. I’ll wear what I want and post what I want. I’ll wear makeup or I won’t. I’ll eat what I feel like and not feel bad for it. I’ll rock my cellulite and little belly rolls,” says Connie.
Check out her Instagram for more photos!