A 17-year-old from Glasgow has opened up about his battle with anorexia to encourage others with eating disorders to seek help.
Dean Miller was struggling with weight and mental health problems for years before being hospitalized due to the failure of his kidneys.
Due to the lack of food, his kidneys were at a high risk of failing.
Dean was trolled and mocked for his weight as people would call him a hunger striker.
Dean, who loved football, was forced to stop playing football due to his weight.
He said: “(It) was a total struggle and there were very dark days and very low days.”
“Men feel less of a man if they seek help when in reality you’re becoming more of a man for getting the help you need to enjoy your life again and to be happier.”
It all started when Dean was called fat by people. He started skipping lunch and told no one about it.
However, his mother noticed when she saw him coming back from school with all the money she would give him.
He was then taken to a specialist who diagnosed him with anorexia nervosa.
He said: “It was only a matter of months before I had zero control over it at all.”
“A few months down the line in September 2019 my thoughts started to get really, really bad and I was saying I no longer wanted to live my life as I felt trapped and wishing I didn’t wake up in the morning.”
Two days before Christmas last year, he was admitted to a hospital due to the failure of his kidneys.
It was the worst time of his life as he spent his days without his family in a hospital room with just a bed and toilet. He was not even allowed to use his mobile phone to message his family.
He was on a strict meal plan so he could build up his weight. During that period, his relationship with food improved.
He said: “Before my relationship with food was like a fear and the fear of getting fat but that is improving now having different things but my relationship with food is getting so much better.”
Now, he plans to beat his illness completely and dreams to have an amazing and healthy body. He now wants to become stronger to go to the gym.
By sharing his story, he wants to raise awareness and encourage others with eating disorders to seek help before it’s too late.
He said no one should suffer alone and urged everyone to take this seriously.
He said: “I wouldn’t even wish it on my worst enemy, it’s horrible fighting and battling with your own mind.”
He encourages people to talk about it and stop feeling ashamed of it.
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