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Woman uses own eating disorder to help others

Chris CraddockJersey communities reporter
Holly Jordas Holly is seated on a gym bench wearing a black sleeveless workout outfit, black socks and trainers, and a smartwatch. The image is taken indoors against a plain grey wall.Holly Jordas
Holly Jordas hopes her story will help other young people struggling in Jersey

A woman who nearly died from an eating disorder has started sharing her story to help other young people affected by similar conditions.

Holly Jordas, 21, was 12 years old when she began to struggle as she found pressures from being a dancer and from social media hard to cope with.

A year later admitted to hospital because her weight had become dangerously low and she stayed there until she was 14 years old.

Holly and her mother, Carole, were helped during this time by Jersey Eating Disorder Support (JEDS), and Holly said: "I owe my life to them." She added she continued to struggle but was now managing to lead a healthier lifestyle by focusing on exercise as a personal trainer.

Carole Jordas Holly is sitting upright in a hospital bed, wrapped in a pink robe and holding a white stuffed toy. Medical equipment and tubing are visible around the bed, while sunlight shines through decorative streamers hanging above.Carole Jordas
Holly's condition became life-threatening and she spent a significant amount of time being treated in hospital

She said: "I found that changing my mindset of trying to find strength, instead of trying to find skinny, was a big shift for me.

"Like any sort of addiction, you will have periods where you go up and you go down, and you have bad years or bad months or bad days.

"JEDS have really helped me in the past year after I lost my dad and they helped me discover that recovery is not linear."

If you've been affected by any of the issues raised you can visit BBC Action Line to access help and support.

Holly Jordas Holly is in athletic clothing standing in a dimly lit concrete parking garage. An overhead fluorescent light illuminates the space, with exposed pipes and walls visible in the background.Holly Jordas
Holly said she now works as a personal trainer after developing a better relationship with her weight

Holly said it could be hard for those affected by such a mental health condition to realise how serious their situation could be.

She said: "I was very much in denial... I would look in the mirror and see myself as an overweight person."

She said this was part of the reason why she started working with JEDS to help other young people affected by eating disorders.

She said: "We all send each other voice notes and message each other whenever we're like having a bad day or even if there's like little achievements."

Karen is in a navy polo shirt seated at a white table in a bright room. A glass door with blue curtains, and a framed picture on the wall.
Karen Dingle from JEDS helped support Holly and her mother

Karen Dingle, from JEDS, said the work Holly was doing was making a difference for young people with eating disorders.

She said: "There's no-one that can help someone better than someone that's been through it.

"She's not recovered but she has that understanding, so, when they're speaking, she can relate so well to what they're saying and that in itself is healing.

"Holly has been there and been through so much and had to face in her young life that they know that she's a safe person to talk to."

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