Former Miss Ireland Lynda Duffy has revealed she used to starve herself for weeks as she battled an eating disorder.
She has described her binge eating disorder as a 'coping mechanism', and said she believed she could cure herself.
She told Newstalk Breakfast it was how she felt in control.
"For me, when things were out of control, it was my way of, maybe, thinking that I was controlling myself," she said.
"What it means for me was over-eating to the point of wanting to be sick, and then under-eating to the point where I just wasn't eating at all.
"It started when I was about 16, but I probably didn't realise it at the time.
"It was in my early 20s [before] I would have recognised that it was an issue".
Lynda Duffy outside the Jervis Shopping Centre in Dublin in December 2002. Picture by: RollingNews.ieMs Duffy said her disorder included limiting her intake one day to 'counterfeit' calories from the previous day.
"It would only have been in the last 10 years, really, where I would have the periods of going through not having any food at all for long periods of time," she said.
"At its worst, it would have been up to about two weeks - but that would have only happened occasionally.
"It wasn't a monthly thing; it was when I would have got to the point where I would have been at my lowest and that was my coping mechanism or my controlling mechanism".
'It's the only thing you know'
Ms Duffy said her body would adapt to a lack of food.
"The first few days are obviously quite hard, and after that your body just seems to adjust to it," she said.
"It's like your mind switches into a different gear and it just becomes easy after a while.
"Obviously it's very unhealthy, but when you're in that frame of mind it's the only thing you know how to do".
Lynda Duffy pictured in Surrey, England in November 2002. Picture by: PA Images / Alamy Stock PhotoLynda said she kept her disorder secret, even from her family, until very recently.
She sought help around two years ago when she said she was in a low place.
"I was resigned to the fact that I can't fix this myself, because I always thought I could fit it myself," she said.
"I always thought, 'I'm a strong person, I have good willpower, I can fix this myself'.
"I just came to the point where it just affects everything in your life.
"I was like, 'I just can't do it anymore and I don't care who knows anymore - I give up'".
Rapid Transformational Therapy
She said she then found Rapid Transformational Therapy, or RTT.
"I started researching that, and I guess because it was different... I just liked what I was hearing and seeing,” she said.
"I reached out to a few therapists and then there's one of them that I just clicked with.
"I was like, 'OK you're going to help me' and I believed that they would help me," she added.
Listen back to the full interview below:
Anyone affected by issues raised in this article can contact Bodywhys on 01-2107-906 or email alex@bodywhys.ie
