Instagram Users Celebrate Eating Disorder Recoveries With Posts To 'Reassure And Empower'

Social media is often accused of platforming 'unrealistic' body types and creating an idea that everyone should look a 'certain way', but some Instagram users are fighting negative influences by celebrating and documenting their recoveries from eating disorders.

This week, February 28-March 6, marks Eating Disorders Awareness Week; an event created to help raise awareness and fight the stigma, myths and misconceptions surrounding eating disorders.

To mark the week, UNILAD spoke to two women who have experienced eating disorders and chosen to document their experiences online, where platforms may otherwise be in danger of encouraging harmful behaviours in relation to health and diet.

Emily Spence, from South Derbyshire, has gained thousands of followers on Instagram after setting up her account to share what she has learned throughout her recovery journey from anorexia, which began when she was 17 years old.

Emily was a student in sixth form at the time and was facing pressures to 'know what [she] wanted to do with the rest of [her] life'; something she felt 'overwhelmed by'. The stress led Emily to lose her appetite, and as the worries stretched over several months her energy-deprived state eventually resulted in the eating disorder.

Speaking to UNILAD, Emily explained that she doesn't remember 'a defining moment' when she went from simply not being hungry to having a 'problem' with her eating, but by the time she started to realise what was happening her brain was 'very much lost in the mire of energy deficit and eating disorder', leaving her 'out of touch with the reality of [her] situation'.

Now 28 years old, Emily is training to become a coach with a goal to specialise in 'restrictive eating disorder recovery, self-discovery and making changes from an action-centric perspective'.

She stressed that social media 'didn’t play any part in the development' of her eating disorder, but acknowledged the unrealistic body types are 'commonly presented' on social media, and that even in spite of increased awareness about photo editing and false appearances, 'people still compare themselves to these unrealistic images'.

Though Emily does not blame social media for her experiences, Beat Eating Disorders has warned that 'pro-eating disorder content, which promotes eating disorders as a lifestyle choice and encourages people to engage in harmful behaviours, is extremely common on social media.'

While social media is unlikely to be the sole and direct cause of eating disorders, Martha Williams, Beat's Clinical Advice Coordinator, explained to UNILAD that content such as calorie counting or exercising can be 'extremely dangerous for people with or vulnerable to eating disorders'. 

In a bid to reassure and support social media users who may be vulnerable to or experiencing eating disorders, Emily established her Instagram account to 'speak up about the things [she] had struggled with the most', and to share how 'honouring [her] hunger and embracing totally unrestricted eating' helped heal her body and mind.

It was actually posts on Facebook which played a part in kickstarting Emily's journey to recovery, as she recalled looking at photos of her friends and peers 'going off to do amazing things' and recognising that she 'wasn't living', and instead was simply having to 'fill time between meals and thinking about food ALL the time.'

She said: 'One morning I woke up, went downstairs and instead of following that path of least resistance towards my disordered, grounded day, I poured a massive bowl of cereal and started eating. I asked for support from my family and stocked up the house with all the things I had been thinking of for months. I dived into my recovery with both feet and am so SO grateful to the me who committed to the fight because I would never have reached a place of freedom if I hadn’t taken those first steps.'

Emily's Instagram began with a focus of aiding others in their recovery, though in creating the page she found that she herself is 'learning so much from being part of the community'. When it comes to being influenced by what we see online, the 28-year-old stressed it's 'down to each individual to curate their own social media feeds', and said that one route to recovery may be following 'accounts that are the most helpful', or stepping away from social media altogether.

One person who found social media useful during her recovery is 20-year-old Isabella from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Isabella began struggling with binge eating and restrictive eating as well as body dysmorphia when she was about 14 or 15 years old, but it developed into bulimia when she was 16.

For the following three years, Isabella was caught in a cycle with her eating disorder, which was accompanied by 'extreme guilt, suicidal thoughts and health issues'.

Isabella believes her experiences with her eating disorder stemmed from 'trauma, a loss of control and a lack of any kind of self worth', though she acknowledged social media may have played a small role in making her 'feeling like [her] extreme actions were warranted and okay' as it promoted 'unhealthy advice on weight loss'.

Instagram has said it has 'never allowed content that promotes or encourages eating disorders' and that it removes such content whenever it becomes aware of it, adding in a statement to UNILAD that such content includes 'close ups of body parts when shared together with eating disorder terms, or instructions for dramatic weight loss when shared together with eating disorder terms.'

For a long time, Isabella found herself in denial about her eating disorder, instead seeing her habits as 'logical'. She didn't associate her eating with how 'awful' she felt both mentally and physically, and it wasn't until she recognised the disorder had damaged her digestion that she acknowledged she was experiencing bulimia.

Prior to the UK going in to lockdown, Isabella had never told anyone about what she was going through, but being forced to stay indoors with her family meant she could no longer hide what she was doing. She told her mum and took steps to get help, eventually starting private therapy.

While receiving support for the eating disorder, Isabella was advised to start writing down everything she ate each day. She found she struggled with that particular task, but was able to take photos of her food and see them each day as 'victories', which she then decided to post online.

Now, Isabella shares regular updates on Instagram about her food choices and thoughts on eating disorders, and, like Emily suggested, uses Instagram as a space to 'follow body positive/[eating disorder] recovery dieticians'.

Having established their accounts, both Emily and Isabella agree on the importance of being open about eating disorders to help remove the 'shame' and 'stereotypes' which so often surround them.

Emily recalled feeling 'immensely reassured' when she spoke to people who had been in the same position as her, explaining: 'I think that speaking up and sharing personal experience is absolutely invaluable: far more attention should be paid to the voices of those who have walked the walk and the more we speak up, the more power we have in breaking down harmful stereotypes, challenging inaccurate perceptions and driving positive change in approaches to both diagnosis and treatment.'

Similarly, Isabella added: 'As great as my therapist was in dealing with the root causes of my ED, she was not always the most encouraging about challenging foods and behaviours, whereas the recovery community I follow really are.'

In a statement to UNILAD, Instagram stressed that it takes 'issues such as mental health and eating disorders very seriously' and that it wants the platform to 'remain a place where people feel supported and able to express themselves.'

Instagram expressed pride in users who 'challenge stereotypes about body size, share their journeys with overcoming body image issues, and celebrate different body types', and said it works 'closely with experts to develop [its] approach, including [its] policies around eating disorders.'

As well as allowing people to talk about their experiences with eating disorders, Instagram last year also introduced resources which direct users to relevant helpful organisations if someone tries searching for terms related to body image or disordered eating, if it becomes aware that someone has shared content related to eating disorders, or if a friend is concerned about something they see and wants to offer support.

Both Emily and Isabella have been supported in their online ventures by followers with who they have chatted and shared advice, and they now stress that recovery is possible, even if it means taking 'tiny little baby steps' to prevent regressing.

In the UK, Beat provides confidential advice and support via its helpline, which is open 365 days a year, and a variety of online support groups. It also supports carers, families and loved ones who are caring for somebody with an eating disorder.

The charity provided 99,988 support sessions between April 2020 to March 2021 for people from under the age of 16 to more than 65 years old. Throughout Eating Disorders Awareness Week this week, Beat is calling for all medical schools in the UK to implement comprehensive training on eating disorders to help doctors spot the signs as soon as possible.

Beat explained to UNILAD that many of its supporters have found online recovery communities useful during their recovery, as it allows them to meet others in a similar situation, share recovery wins and encourage others to keep going.

However, it also noted that 'eating disorder recovery is such a personal journey, and what one person may find helpful, another may not'. This sentiment is echoed by Isabella, who explained that she actually lost weight during recovery, and while this 'worried people', it was simply due to the way her metabolism had been impacted by the eating disorder.

Beat encourages anyone who may be worried that they have an eating disorder to make an appointment with a GP as soon as possible. If appropriate, the GP will then be able to refer you to a specialist eating disorder team. 

Samantha Turton, Beat's Deputy Director of Services, has explained that Beat does not have a referral system in place, but that all of its services are accessed via the freephone national helpline telephone number.

Having been 'totally and completely recovered' from her eating disorder since the summer of 2020, Emily wants people to know that 'total freedom is possible'.

She noted that she was told on a number of occasions that she would 'always have the twitterings of an [eating disorder] in [her] mind’, but she wants people to know that 'with hard work and commitment, they can reach a place of total freedom'.

Eating disorders impact 1.25 million people in the UK, and can affect anyone of any age, race, gender, sexuality or background. By raising awareness and engaging in conversations about them, we can help tackle stigmas and encourage those who need it to reach out for support.

If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article and would like to speak with someone in confidence, call the BEAT Eating Disorders helpline on 0808 801 0677. Helplines are open 365 days a year from 9am–8pm during the week, and 4pm–8pm on weekends and bank holidays. Alternatively, you can try the one-to-one webchat