Often decried, social networks can sometimes serve as a positive vehicle in cases of mental health.
After being diagnosed with five mental health issues, including eating disorders, 22-year-old Anna-Maude decided to come out openly on her platforms, as well as on TV, as she recently took part in a episode of the show We got there, broadcast on UnisTV. “I think it helped me in the sense that it allowed me to make something positive that isn’t necessarily positive. Obviously, that does not change the negative nature of eating disorders, for example, but if I can at least raise awareness on these subjects, that would already be it.”
For her, talking openly about her challenges was also a way of understanding them and accepting herself. “For example, it took me a long time to lose weight significantly. Initially, I thought that an anorexic girl was necessarily very thin, which is not the case at all. I needed to feel valid in what I was going through and I also wanted to educate the world, because I suffered from these prejudices. Some doubted that I really had an eating disorder because it didn’t show. Later, I also wanted to have a voice outside of my diagnoses, I don’t define myself by that alone. I chose to speak, but I do not undergo it, it is I who control.
Regarding the impact of this highlighting on his eating disorders, it is more divided. “There are times when it has helped me and not at all at other times. With social networks, there is also the image that we project. It could be confrontational at times, but in general, this approach was quite positive.
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Contrary to what one might think, it was not impacted by its transparency. “I don’t have 20,000 followers on my social media either. It is mainly relatives, former high school classmates, acquaintances, and acquaintances of acquaintances who follow me. The fact that I’m talking about it openly was quite well received. The hardest person towards me is always myself. I even received testimonials and snippets of stories, because they trusted me. It even gave me value, because I understood that I was making a difference for others.” She even recently agreed to confide in the show We got therebroadcast on UnisTV, on the theme of mental health.
Since she started to be open on her social networks, Anna-Maude has matured and she has now understood that, when her personal situation is less good, she takes a little distance. “I will take time for myself. I have no difficulty setting myself limits on that side. If it’s too much for me, I feel it and I know I’m not going to have enough energy or time to put into it. I’m just going to unofficially retire until I get better.”
Today, Anna-Maude is in a stabilization phase. “It’s still an issue. I’ve been maintaining a healthy weight for about a year now, which is a win for me. But it’s very difficult psychologically in terms of obsession and behavior at times. But overall it’s going pretty well.”
An opening to follow
If Anna-Maude has found a positive aspect by expressing herself openly on her social networks, it is not necessarily an example that will be able to be imitated by everyone. “It’s a slippery slope, especially in cases of restrictive eating disorders, explains the young woman. There is a sick aspect of pride that can be very negative. We make publications to promote ourselves for having lost weight or not having eaten all day, for example. It is an approach that can be positive, but conversely, the eating disorder, for example, must not benefit from this visibility. If we talk about it, it has to be more for the purpose of oneself, of one’s feelings and feelings, of one’s recovery and one’s experience.