Green Party's Saoirse McHugh opens up about eating disorder on Twitter

ireland
Green Party's Saoirse Mchugh Opens Up About Eating Disorder On Twitter
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Kenneth Fox
One of the Green Party's rising stars, Saoirse McHugh, has opened up about her battle with bulimia on Twitter.

An environmentalist passionate about climate change and biodiversity, the Achill Island-native rose to national prominence when she stood as a candidate in the European Parliament elections in 2019.

The Green Party politician took to Twitter on Friday to speak about her near decade-long battle with bulimia and how it has affected her life.

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She said: "I don’t know what I thought would happen if people found out, but above all else I kept it secret...

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"And doing that let it control my whole life, I had no confidence and spent so much time hating my body I don’t know how I got anything else done."

She said the services available to people in Ireland with eating disorders are "way behind where it needs to be."

The effect on her was severe: "I tried to get help a few times as my bulimia had gotten so bad I would wake up with all my limbs tingling and dead feeling."

Talking about her bulimia openly with family and her support network helped McHugh and she urged others to do the same: "Please please please tell somebody if you’re going through the same... It was like the power it had over me began to break once it was out in the open."

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Bodywhys, the Eating Disorders Association of Ireland, can provide support through its helpline at 01 2107906. For e-mail support, contact alex@bodywhys.ie.

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