RTE star opens up on eating disorder after being ‘afraid to talk about it’

RTE star Angela Scanlon has opened up on her struggle with an eating disorder.

The Meath native had struggled with anorexia and bulimia for 15 years, starting from her late teens.

Angela appeared on ITV’s Loose Women yesterday to speak about her battle with the mental illness.

The 40-year-old admitted: “I was quite afraid to talk about it for a really long time. I think I was afraid it would define me, that people would always want to talk about it or scrutinise me.

“It was anorexia and bulimia. Often they go in cycles, it’s not necessarily one or the other.

“It can sometimes be very bleak. It’s not spoken about very often. It can be very secretive. It’s not always obvious. I think people assume it’s a very thin person who’s visibly struggling but I think they come in very different forms.”

The Ask Me Anything presenter revealed the “turning point” she had when she decided to change her life around.

Angela explained: “I just remember when I was in a really bad place…

“One of the turning points was a friend of mine, who also suffered, saying, ‘We’re just going to have this forever’.

“For her, it felt like a comfort thing – support in numbers.

“But for me, I kicked against that notion of having to stay in that very small space for a long time.”

Angela also spoke about how it’s “difficult” to pinpoint the factors that contribute to the harrowing illness.

She said: “There’s definitely towards tendency to very sensitive people. You can be exposed to the exact same thing – childhood, environmental circumstances or media, and you’ll have a whole host of people who are absolutely unaffected by it and then people who are.

“So I think it’s very hard to define. That’s what makes it very difficult to understand and to wrap your head around.

“The fear of attaching it to pop culture is that it slightly feels like it’s a trend or a choice. There’s no doubt that that will impact some people but it’s a psychological illness.”

Angela revealed how her eating disorder impacted her family’s life saying: “There’s a helplessness that your parents feel.

‘DIFFICULT’

“I feel it now with my own daughters, there’s a kind of level of control you wish you had over your kids and you realise you don’t.

“It’s difficult. With most addictions, and I think you put them in the same category, there’s abstinence from those things and very clear lines.

“With an eating disorder, who’ve got three meals a day minimum and a lot of family occasions revolve around those. The joyful happy moments all revolve around those.”

The radio star gave hope to those who are struggling as she said: “You don’t have to be stuck with it forever.

“The point is to seek help and speak to someone. It thrives in silence and secrecy and shame, so keep asking until you get the right person.”

ITV viewers were blown away by Angela’s honesty and flooded the comment section with praise.

Sarah wrote: “Great interview.”

Lynn said: “Really great interview. If she helps one person with am eating disorder.”

Rachel remarked: “What a woman, incredibly eloquently spoken by the whole panel”

Chloe added: “I find her journey so inspiring.”