A former anorexia sufferer has slammed trolls who have accused her of ‘faking’ her eating disorder by Photoshopping old pictures she shared to show how she looked before her recovery.
Chiara Schober, 20, from Liechtenstein, explained she is now ‘completely recovered’ and weighs more than double the amount she did when she was in the grips of her illness.
Sharing a photo of her while battling anorexia and another picture of her after her recovery, she explained: ‘Obviously, I look different now? How would you expect someone who’s close to death look?’
Chiara, who weighed under four stone at her lowest weight, said she was ‘tired’ of defending herself to people who claimed she was ‘attention seeking’.
Chiara Schober, 20, from Liechtenstein, (pictured left, while she was suffering from anorexia, and right, as she is today) has slammed trolls who claim she has ‘faked’ her eating disorder by photoshopping old pictures
In the honest post, Chiara wrote: ‘There are people who claim my transformation pics were photoshopped.
‘Either b[ecause] they don’t realise iphone 4 existed, either b[ecause] my jawline looks different or even my haircolour or b[ecause] I don’t have stretchmarks, whatever.
‘[O]n the left you see a picture from when I was SIXTEEN, 1% bodyfat, weak body – right I am four years older, I weight more than DOUBLE the amount, I am completely recovered by now.
‘Obviously, I look different now? How would you expect someone who’s close to death look like?’
Responding to the upsetting comments, she wrote: ‘Obviously, I look different now? How would you expect someone who’s close to death look like?
She continued: ‘My story is not fake and I’m tired of defending myself to those people. I already regret my past enough, I don’t need people to say it was fake and I was only attention seeking.’
Chiara, who now weighs 8st 5lbs, explained that she decided to share her story in order to ‘help and motivate others’, as well as to ‘raise awareness’ of the condition.
She added: ‘Anorexia is a severe and COMPLEX mental illness that destroys yourself, your body.
‘It’s real. It’s terrible. No one will ever understand if they never experienced it themselves. Recovery is hard. Recovery takes time!
Chiara, whose weighed under four stone while in the grips of her eating disorder, said she is ‘tired’ of people calling her attention seeking
‘It took me 4 years, one of them in hospital, to gain back the weight and to recover mentally.’
She finished the post by adding: ‘Just stop saying it was fake. That’s an insult for me, my family who suffered so much and my friends who couldn’t do anything to help me. Anorexia exists.’
Speaking to FEMAIL, Chiara admitted the comments from people suggesting that she’d faked her eating disorder had ‘upset’ her.
‘I can’t understand why some people just don’t believe it’s true, why some people just want to deny the reality: eating disorders exist,’ she said.
She said she is now ‘completely recovered’ and weighs more than double the amount she did when she was suffering from her eating disorder
She added: ‘Usually when I see someone has commented it was Photoshopped, I answer that comment and tell that person it is real and I suffered for 7 years.’
Other social media users quickly offered their support, praising her for being an ‘inspiration’.
One wrote: ‘You are so incredibly strong and amazing and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.’
Another added: ‘I’m so sorry that anyone would try to minimize your pain and journey by calling it ‘fake’. We’re all behind you 100%!’
Chiara explained how she decided to share her story online in order to ‘help and motivate others’, and ‘raise awareness’ of eating disorders