Worth Living Ambassador Becca Shipley
Hi, my name is Becca, I am ‘Worth Living’s’ newest ambassador and I couldn’t be happier to help make a change! But first it’s worth telling you how I got to this point in the first place. I live in a little town in the North of England, but I am hoping that my words reach much, much further! I write a blog over at http://www.postivfworld.wordpress.com where I talk about my life now that our IVF journey has ended, what brought me to this point in the first place, my mental health, my issues with food consumptions, my osteoporosis and generally what life is throwing at me, feel free to take a look or reach out at any time!
Where It All Started
At 15, I was diagnosed with early menopause, it was devastating and in all honesty I didn’t understand the long term effects this was going to have on my life, only that I was different from my school friends and hospital appointments were the norm, this in itself didn’t feel good.
In the years that followed, I was back and forward to the hospital, trying to reverse the menopause, find a reason for this happening and to keep my hormones at an acceptable level.
As the time passed the appointments lessened, they weren’t able to reverse the menopause and my hormone levels were monitored.
But what was becoming more apparent was the lasting effect this was having on my mental health. I felt so out of control when it came to my body, as if it wasn’t really mine. I began to find other ways to control my life, unfortunately the way in which I did this was to control my food intake. I felt like I could punish my body for what it was doing to me by deciding when I did or did not give it food and I began to like the feeling of being hungry, as if it was my body crying for something that I didn’t feel it deserved!
Writing this now, it is painful, I almost want to delete what I have just written, I know it sounds crazy, but the mind works in strange ways, I was only young, and I was never offered any professional support.
I wish back then, I had the support of the online mental health community that is available now. I know it would have been a massive help to me, which I why I want to get involved with Worth Living, to help others where I wasn’t, having mental health issues can be so alienating, confusing and lonely. It can also be empowering to channel these feeling into something more positive where possible.
I am looking forward to speaking to you guys and working with you in the future!