Fifteen years old and surrounded by drugs. Counting calories in order to fit in. Katie Larrimer sculpted her identity through anorexia nervosa.
Freshman year of highschool meant a fresh start for Larrimer. A new outlook, a chance to find her identity. However, she ended up surrounding herself with inebriated bodies addicted to the high. She soon started favoring the look of translucent skin, skinny waists and frail bones. Since that moment, she spent high school allowing herself to eat only 300 calories a day and skipping meals in order to become this shape she desperately admired. Eventually as the years went by and highschool came to an end, Larrimer found that painting was her solace away from her anorexia nervosa. “Having art as an outlet is very helpful, because it creates this different world that doesn’t involve eating at all”. That was all until the Covid pandemic.
When the pandemic hit, Larrimer was forced to leave Kent State and come back home to pittsburgh. With a stay at home order and nothing to do, her anorexia crept up. “ It was a challenge to just not keep track of everything I was eating because it was so easy because we had nothing to do,” she said. Larrimer decided to spend her free time focusing back on her body and her eating habits. Being home became a dangerous atmosphere for her health. “It almost made it more difficult because it gave me so much time and so many options for what I was eating, rather than if I was at school I could just go to the dining hall, get food, then go somewhere else” she said. With the world out of control, Larrimer’s eating habits seemingly became the one thing she could control.
In an interview with agent Miranda at The National Eating Disorders Association, when asked about the pandemic and its effects on eating disorders, she said “ The isolation from others, and other stressors such as finances and being home more often can negatively affect somebody with an eating disorder, especially anorexia nervosa.” When it comes to coping with eating disorders during the pandemic, Miranda recommended contacting the NEDA to help get in touch with an online therapist or support group. Miranda then went on to say “We usually encourage others to continue any techniques they learned in therapy (if they have been to therapy) or find solace in an activity that can help relieve anxiety or stress related to their eating disorder.”
Soon enough , Larrimer sought tranquility in exercise. It helped her bond with her family and shift her focus towards something more positive. She quickly focused on balancing using exercise as an outlet without overusing it. Soon enough Katie picked up running as her main distraction.“ Running was like an outlet and created solace.”