Recovery With Mary Grace

Coronavirus

[ kuh-roh-nuh-vahy-ruhs ]

Definition: an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Synonym: A time of hopelessness. A time where family and friends were isolated from each other. A time where no one had any sort of control over their own lives.

COVID-19 started as a two week vacation. No more school; no more work. Slowly a vacation turned into a living hell. No more visiting with friends and family. No more going to the mall or movies. No more playing our favorite sports. No more anything. As a population that yearned to control some part of their lives that had been taken over by a life threatening disease, many people young and old found control through food. Unfortunately, this led to a dramatic increase of eating disorders around the US. According to Forbes, “over the course of the pandemic, the National Eating Disorder Association helpline has reported a huge 40% increase in call volume.” Mary Grace Walshburn was 13 years old when COVID-19 hit. She was 13 years old when she started her battle with anorexia.

At first, Mary Grace attempted to make the most of COVID-19, focusing on eating healthier and exercising more. A start to a healthier lifestyle slowly turned into counting calories and the development of a fear around food. Around May of 2021, Mary Grace did the bravest thing anyone struggling with any disorder could do: she asked for help. After seeing a nutritionist and specialist, her heart rate was monitored. Eventually, her heart rate became so low that she had to be hospitalized. Under eating disorder protocol, Mary Grace remembers feeling like she was “stripped of [her] humanity, like everything was taken from [her]”.

In the summer of 2022, Mary Grace decided to fight back. She made the decision to be admitted to residential treatment. After asking her honest opinion on the treatment center, Mary Grace informed me that it was far from an easy experience. In fact, she hated it. With limited contact with her family, she admits that her depression had been the worst it had ever been. Although there were benefits of the treatment including challenging different foods and creating relationships with many people, Mary Grace admits that she wishes the treatment could have been different. She wishes that she could have had more contact with the people she loved, as she felt completely isolated without their support.

Mary Grace not only took back the control of her own life, but also helped others take control of their own lives. In August of 2021, Mary Grace created an Instagram account under the user “recoverywithliv.” Using the name Liv, she anonymously posted about her struggle with anorexia, the goals she wished to accomplish, and offered pieces of inspirational quotes and affirmations to her audience. Mary Grace said that at first this page was meant for herself; to keep track of her own recovery. Only a select few members of her family and friends knew about this account. However, as her following grew, she realized that by helping herself, she was serving as an inspiration for other people struggling with eating disorders to help themselves. Before she left for residential treatment, she revealed to her following her real name and personal Instagram account. To this day, Mary Grace creates content on @recoverywithliv for over 1,500 people.

In the past few years, Mary Grace has taken back her freedom that her eating disorder stripped from her. Once a 13 year old girl who was scared for what her future had to offer, she is now 17 proudly recovering from her eating disorder, and is planning to continue helping others with the goal of becoming a registered dietician. In the words of Mary Grace Walshburn, “Recovery is hard. But living with an eating disorder is harder. Choose recovery now. You wont regret it.” Check out @recoverywithliv for more information on eating disorder recovery.