Mrs. Megan Hartman teaches physical education and health to her students at TAHS. However, her life wasn’t always the perfect image of fitness.

Nine percent of all American women suffer from anorexia in their lifetime, and Hartman is unfortunately among that population, enduring and overcoming her eating disorder from her teenage years.

With this being National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, Hartman was willing to share her story in hopes of helping others in a similar situation.

“After months of losing weight, my [high school] basketball coach finally called my parents expressing his concern for me. I had dropped a lot of weight, and no longer had any energy to practice or play,” said Hartman.

Hartman always had a perfectionist personality, which spiraled into her health obsession.

After her parents were contacted, Hartman went to a pediatrician, who then recommended her to a specialized eating-disorder counselor.

“It was kind of an area that I could have complete control over. I was always pretty athletic, so I didn’t have any weight to lose. Once I realized I could easily control what I ate (or didn’t) and how my body looked, it gave me a sense of peace and a feeling of complete control over my life,” said Hartman.

Hartman wasn’t just physically unhealthy. She also suffered in her personal life with her friendships and relationships.

“I avoided any social situation where I may have to eat, so a lot of my friend interactions stopped. I had a very specific exercise regimen that I adhered to, so that also squashed my social life. Aside from my compulsive behaviors, I was exhausted all the time, so I really didn’t even want to hang out with friends,” said Hartman.

She lost friends in her life, leading to an inactive social life. Hartman also had strained relations with her family.

Although Hartman is now considered recovered, anorexia, like any eating disorder, lasts a lifetime and is hard to overcome.

“Eating disorders are something that a lot of people struggle with their whole life. Even though I eat normally for the most part now and look normal, I could still tell you the calorie content of almost any food,” said Hartman.

Even after all of these years, Hartman wishes she would’ve gotten helps sooner and hopes anyone struggling will come forward and get help with their health issues.

“I know I didn’t want help at the time, but looking back, I missed out on a lot of life for a couple years. Getting help is crucial. Recovery is a long process, and I worked on it well into adulthood. Anorexia is mental and emotional, so just gaining weight is not the cure. To recover, you have to relearn how to think about food, exercise, your body, and what is really in your realm of control. The sooner you get help, the better your chances fully recovering,” said Hartman.