It’s absolutely been retriggered and has manifested in slightly more sinister forms. I could feel certain attitudes, thoughts and shame creeping back in.” Kirstie, a 42-year-old commercial lawyer, is talking about her eating disorder. Anorexia first reared its head when she was 12 years old; 30 years later, she’s had to grapple with it again as a result of entering perimenopause.
After the birth of her daughter 11 years ago, her relationship with food had markedly improved – but this new life stage saw her relapse. Although Kirstie could spot the warning signs, the difficulty for her was physical: she felt nauseous much of the time and suffered from a reduced capacity to eat. Her stomach felt sore; she wanted food less and less. “That just made me think, ‘Well, I can’t eat.’ You know, that food isn’t good for me,” she says.
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