cover story
Haley at
her junior
prom
BMI isn’t always
a great tool for
judging health,
but when it
comes to being
under weight, it’s
typically a good
indicator that
you’re not getting
enough calories.
Healthy weight
for a height of
5’7” is a minimum
of 121 pounds.
way she was living. She felt like she
was eating well and taking care of
her body through exercise.
By the time Christmas Break
rolled around, she was still
maintaining the same weight but
was nearing the deadline for her
art portfolio and would stay up late
to work on it. Her anxiety caused
her to wake up and not be able
to fall back asleep, so by the time
break was over, she’d been on a
pattern of sleeping from 11:00 am to
2:00 am. She was so anxious over
not sleeping once she returned to
school, that she took a medication
to help her sleep but the dose was
too high for her very thin build. She
ended up passing out at school
and was
sent home.
Haley has
It wasn’t
what’s called
long before
“Orthorexia”
Haley’s
which is the
insomnia had
obsession
taken over
with eating
her life. The
only foods one
anxiety it
considers healthy
and being
caused was
hypersensitive to
paralyzing
weight gain.
in many
respects and
began to
cause her to recoil from the outside
world. She eventually stopped
attending school altogether and
would complete assignments
from home.
enhance magazine | MARCH 2018
31