Singer Anne-Marie opens up about eating disorder

Anne-Marie had turned to purchasing dangerous pills online in an effort to gain weight. Photo: Handout

British artiste Anne Marie opens about her life long struggle with eating disorder in her new book, You Deserve Better, which aims to help readers on a journey towards self care.

Anne-Marie said that she would only eat cheese sandwiches and chips when she was younger due to her fear of vomitting. Her weight started to get affected when she was 16. "I stopped eating properly. I got really skinny – unhealthily so," she wrote.

When she was 22 and on tour with band Rudimental, her desperation to gain weight led her to purchasing pills online. "I'd been obsessed with being thin but I started to notice the girls they found attractive were curvy. Of course, me being me, I took that on board 110% and totally changed my approach overnight," shared the 30-year-old singer.

She continued to explain: "I started buying pills off the Internet that made me put on weight. It was ridiculous, and dangerous, but I still wasn’t happy because I was still trying to be something that I wasn’t."

It wasn't until after her debut album, Speak Your Mind, was released in 2018 that she knew she needed help. This prompted the singer to visit a cognitive behavioural therapist. She shared: "I was so sad I couldn’t cry. I went to a CBT therapist for the first time. She told me I was on the verge of a full-on breakdown and that I was severely depressed."

Thankfully, her therapist helped change her life for the better and even gave her the inspiration to write a book to help others. "I don't know if I'd be here without it," she said when referring to her weekly therapy sessions.

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Those suffering from mental health issues or contemplating suicide can reach out to the following organisations:

- Mental Health Psychosocial Support Service (03-2935 9935/ 014-322 3392)

- Talian Kasih (15999/ 019-261 5999 on WhatsApp)

- Jakim’s (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia) family, social and community care centre (0111-959 8214 on WhatsApp)

- Befrienders Kuala Lumpur (03-7627 2929 or go to befrienders.org.my/centre-in-malaysia for a full list of numbers nationwide and operating hours, or email [e-mail]).