Student’s blog tells of mental health struggles
HER weight dropped to six stone after she became afraid of food and drink – but now student Savannah Lloyd is helping others with her mental health blog.
Savannah, 19, suffers from anxiety, depression and an eating disorder which consumed her life as a young teenager and left her feeling isolated and self-harming on a regular basis.
At the age of 15 she was left not wanting to drink water because she believed it might cause her to put on weight.
Savannah, from Trinant in Caerphilly, said: “I wasn’t able to go to social occasions and not be anxious, which prevented me from doing anything, like socialising with friends.
“When I had the eating disorder, I had no life at all – I would stay in the house and it was quite isolating.
“It started off when I went on a diet, just trying to cut down on junk foods and I found websites which encouraged that behaviour.
“I was restricting eating until it got to not wanting to have water because there might be calories in it and being afraid of food and drink, and exercising every minute of the day.
“It took about 14 months for people to realise what I was doing because I was really good at being secretive and pretending I was eating.”
Savannah’s condition remained undiagnosed for many months but after reading mental health blogs, she realised she wasn’t alone in the way she felt.
Savannah, who no longer keeps pictures of herself when she was at her lowest weight as she doesn’t want to be triggered by them or for them to set her back, said: “I think the blogs made me realise there was a problem.
“Other people around me brought up there was a problem, but I pushed it off. I read these blogs and it made it easier to accept help.”
The Oxford Brookes University student, who reads early childhood studies, began writing her own blog, called Saving Savannah, in 2015 to talk about her own journey and to help others with mental illness.
“I realised, reading the blogs, I wasn’t alone and I related to other people and it makes you more confident about yourself because other people have done it,” said Savannah.
“I like to provide people with information about certain conditions and I talk about my own personal experiences and opinions, which people can relate to.”
She is also a published author, a blogger with the Huffington Post and has made a short movie on social anxiety which featured on ITV.
“I’ve written articles on ‘What not to say to somebody with mental illness’ or ‘Five facts about anorexia’ to bring down the stigma and to help educate people.”
Savannah was recently presented with the Young Person Award at the 2017 St David Awards.
She said: “It was overwhelming to win the award but I am happy people are seeing my work.”
Speaking about her condition now, Savannah added: “I have learned to manage it, but some months are worse than others so it’s about finding a balance.
“Physically I am recovered but it still does affect me mentally. It’s about having that control.”
Visit the blog at savingsavannah.org/