About Patricia Lemoine, Author of the Surviving ED Blog

Hello, I'm Patricia Lemoine. I'm glad to be joining Jess Hudgens in writing the Surviving ED Blog. I suffered from bulimia as a teen and in my early 20s. Undiagnosed and untreated for almost a decade, my eating disorder got out of control in 2006. I now consider myself recovered from bulimia, though I sometimes suffer from anxiety, mostly related to food. I strongly believe eating disorder recovery is possible, but it’s an everyday choice since I must manage daily anxieties by not self-harming with food restriction and/or binging.

How My Eating Disorder Started

As a teen, the voice in my head told me that I was lazy and fat, not pretty enough, good enough, smart enough: the binging and purging began. Later on, the demands of law school made me feel out-of-control so I tried to regain power over my life by controlling food intake. After years of binging and purging, I found myself in the ER in need of surgery to remove my gallbladder. That’s when I knew the self-harm had to stop. I sought therapy, but unfortunately didn't meet the requirements for long-term service in the public system and lack of affordable private therapy was an ongoing obstacle. A supportive social network was invaluable, but the stigma and difficulty talking about my illness got in the way at the start of bulimia recovery.

In the end, it was a strong will that allowed me, in 2013, to reach the milestone of 5 years without giving in to my eating disorder. My diagnosis with a mental illness did not define me. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric diagnosis. I’m alive. I’m still standing. I’m recovered.

I believe there is no health without mental health, and that breaking the silence and opening a dialogue is critical when living with a mental illness. As part of my ongoing healing and recovery process, I became more active by promoting mental health initiatives and mental illness awareness, locally and nationally. My goal as an activist is to encourage dialogue around mental health to end stigma. Additionally, my experience with mental illness goes beyond my own struggle given that one of my parents suffers from bipolar disorder.

I am now a communications professional working in the public health sector, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. When I'm not advocating for mental health initiatives with various organizations, or giving peer support to people suffering from eating disorders, you can find me in downward dog, swimming or writing.

You can also connect with Patricia Lemoine on Google +, Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin