Beat Bulimia, Binge Eating & Anxiety. School of Rock Bottom 2: Kelly Wenham

[TW//Eating disorders, Bulimia, Binge Eating, Anxiety, Body Image, Suicide]
Did you know 👉 1.25 million people in the UK struggle with eating disorders such as #bulimia and #bingeeating.
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all #mentalhealth conditions.
Suicide is the major cause of death, with those suffering with bulimia 7 x more likely to commit suicide.
Today I welcome Kelly Wenham who is an accomplished actress, voice over artist, writer and director. At the age of 16, she landed the role of Jess Buckley on the smash hit ITV drama 'Where The Heart Is' which she appeared as a series regular for 4 years and has been working in the industry ever since.
Kelly's journey starts as a teenager landing a modelling opportunity in Japan that triggers a slow and dangerous decent into chronic bulimia that nearly takes her life on more than one occasion. Kelly spends her twenties in and out of recovery desperately looking for a solution that seems out of reach.
She never gives up despite her struggles and finally finds a solution that works for her to break free. Kelly is a bulimia survivor, a hero and an inspiration. I cannot thank Kelly enough for opening up so honestly to help others.
If you are affected by the sensitive content or are looking for useful resources, Kelly recommends contacting Julie Kerr -
www.bulimiafree.com and the following books 👇
'Brain Over Binge' by Kathryn Hansen and 'Women, Food and God' by Geneene Roth.
Topics -
00:00 Intro
3:42 Kelly's rock bottom
8:10 More rock bottoms
9:32 Puberty & coping with dyslexia
11:30 Kelly starts modelling at 14
17:57 The slippery slope to Bulimia
19:08 The start of bulimia
21:53 Getting into acting
26:35 Why acting didn't cure bulimia
31:50 Bulimia getting worse and addiction to purging
36:48 The role of sugar and foods
40:30 Reaching out for help but really struggling
49:40 Finding solutions
59:30 Dealing with rejection as an actor
01:04 What would you say to your younger self?
This Podcast is not for profit but my goal is to break even. To help me make more please donate here. Thank you!
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About this podcast:
Welcome to the School Of Rock Bottom Podcast with Oliver Mason. I work as an actor, voice-over artist, Performing Arts School Principal and a Mental Health Coach. It's these careers and passions combined that have inspired this podcast!
People working in the entertainment and performing arts industry are twice as likely to experience depression, are up to 15x more likely to suffer from anxiety and those working across all the creative industries are 3x more likely to suffer a mental health problem.
In this podcast, we invite creatives who have lived through a rock bottom but have survived! These stories need to be heard to help others realise that no matter how bad things seem there is hope and always a way out.
We will also be discussing how to protect your mental health whilst working within the creative industries.
#bulimia
#eatingdisorder
#performingarts

[@emmacb2411]

An extremely honest and moving podcast. I’m sure Kelly sharing her story will help so many others who may be listening.

[@OliverMason1]

Thank you so much Emma 🔥

[@Charliehare77]

Totally agree with @emmacb2411, felt very raw and honest. These podcasts feel very natural, very cleverly guided Olly, I felt Kelly also got a lot out of it which made it all the more privileged to be able to listen, thank you Olly thank you Kelly. Feel that bit better than I did 1hr 7 mins ago!! Big love

[@OliverMason1]

​@@Charliehare77 thank you 🙏 Right back atchya! 😀

[@chattyman4740]

Brave to talk about this stuff. I was in the same year of high school as Kelly, and it's sad to hear that she had a rough time. Thinking back, everyone fancied her, she was the best-looking girl in the school, and most girls were jealous, so there would have been a lot of bitchy behaviour, kids are naturally vile to each other! As adults it important that these stories are told because there will be so many young people out there going through similar situations with bulimia.

[@OliverMason1]

Thank you for your comment 😀 Please join us again we have a new episode every other Tuesday ❤️