I’ll show off my scars to inspire women struggling with their body image
Beauty queen on self-harming
got great bodies by working out.
“In contrast, I’d a lway s be e n athletic-looking, so I started to eat less.
“I was working out three or four times a day because I felt the need to stay fit and slim.
“I’m a dancer, so was regularly taking part in competitions, and the weight just fell off.”
By the time she was 15 she had dropped from nine stone to seven-and-ahalf stone.
“I put myself under this massive strain to be allround perfect,” she says. “I
felt hopeless, like I was never good enough. Looking back I was doing really well but I couldn’t see it.”
Lucy’s mum Lorna, 45, and stepdad Mick, 59, were approached by someone who alerted them to Lucy’s selfharming and extreme dieting.
She was referred to the NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Services and saw a counsellor at school.
Happily, she stopped hurting herself within a year. She now has a tattoo over some of her scars.
“I’m not embarrassed by my scars, but thought it might be nice to have a lovely tattoo etched over them.”
She finally got control over her food issues a year ago. She credits the Miss Lincoln title with helping her get through. She was talentscouted outside a gym in Lincoln.
“I never considered myself to be the type of woman to enter beauty competitions but I spoke to my mum, who encouraged me, and my friends were all really supportive.”
As well as her talks to schoolkids, she has also raised more than £700 for Beauty with a Purpose, for disadvantaged chi ldren, and £450 for sui c ideprevention charity Papyrus. Lucy says of her scars: “They show what I’ve been through – how I’ve overcome problems.”
I n s t a g r am rec ent l y announced it is considering ditching its “likes” function, which mental health experts warn increases the pressure on youngsters to post often.
Chief Adam Mosseri says: “We want people to worry a little bit less about how many likes they’re getting and spend a bit more time connecting with the people that they care about.”