Brittany Snow recalls heartbreaking moment she realized she was struggling with an eating disorder
Warning: This article contains discussion of eating disorders which some readers may find distressing.
Brittany Snow has opened up about the moment she realized she had an eating disorder, months after marking 17 years of recovery.
Earlier this year, the Pitch Perfect actress candidly opened up about her recovery in an Instagram post, in which she penned: “Seventeen years ago, I didn’t know if I would make it. I couldn’t see a future, and I certainly couldn’t imagine one where I would learn to be kind to myself.
“If someone had told me then that I would not only live, but one day have a beautiful, full life, free from the cycle of self-destruction and my eating disorder I truly don’t think I would have believed them," she added.
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Now, in an interview on the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast, Snow opened up about how she started dieting at 13 years old. She told the hosts that it became an 'addiction' and that it became the 'only thing she cared about' aside from work.
She added that in the 90s 'there wasn't any talk about eating disorders.
"I got down to a weight that was dangerous," the Hollywood star added. She explained how her dad intervened, and how she started therapy at 16 years old.
Snow then revealed that she realized she had an eating disorder after reading an article in a magazine.
"I read an article in a magazine about this woman who had an eating disorder," she said. "And I was like the way she's counting her food and the way she's talking about her body. That's exactly what I do.”
The Hunting Wives star said she carried the magazine article around in her back pocket because it 'signified somebody had an answer to this'.
"It made me feel not alone," she explained.
Snow later experienced a heartwarming full-circle moment when she met a girl in a coffee shop who was holding her article in PEOPLE magazine in which she spoke about her recovery.
In September, when marking 17 years of recovery, Snow penned on her post: “Somewhere underneath the noise, there was a tiny voice inside me that kept saying: don’t give up. There is so much more to your story.
“There was so much beauty ahead that I couldn’t see yet. So much love. And one of the greatest gifts of making it through is being able to turn around and share the hope I couldn’t see possible.”
She concluded by sharing a message to those who are currently struggling with an eating disorder.
“So many people have stood where you are standing. There is life beyond the place you are in today, even if you can’t picture it yet,” she penned, adding that she was 'so grateful she stayed'.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone, contact National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD). You can reach them on their free hotline at 1(888)-375-7767, which is open Monday-Friday, 9am-9pm CST.
Kiesha Dosanjh