This Eating Disorders Awareness Week (link is external), countless people from around the country will share their stories of recovery to reduce mental health stigma (link is external), encourage others to get a screening, raise awareness and even help in their own healing process. Since anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, bulimia, and other eating disorders affect all ages, genders and races, you might already expect that each person’s eating disorder journey is as unique as they are. But you may not expect the complete mind, body and soul transformation that each person undergoes on their path to wellness.

At 15 years old, Erika* thought she had found a great way to lose weight over the summer and stay healthy. At first, she received compliments on how she looked and how active she had become. But eventually, her friends knew something wasn’t right.

“They noticed that I was throwing away my lunch. They noticed that I was distracted, isolated, that I walked around during lunch,” said Erika. Her friends tried to drop hints that the way she had been eating and been taking care of herself was, in fact, an eating disorder.