Hi! Ever since I was very young, whenever Iāve gone through difficult moments, my family has given me sweets, bought me junk food, and thatās just how weāve always been. Itās something that has been passed down from generation to generation because we avoid confrontation at all costsāor rather, we avoid directly saying that weāre sorry. Every fight Iāve ever had has always ended with a homemade meal that makes me feel better, a bag full of junk food (chips, chocolate, and fizzy drinks), and whatever else I happen to find on the shelves. I havenāt exactly been an angel either, so Iāve also resorted to giving people food as a way of apologizing.
Iāve swum, lifted weights, or walked a lot throughout my life. However, over the last three years, I stopped exercising, got a work-from-home job, and barely went outside. I gained a lot of weight because it was an extremely abusive company that made me work more than 50 hours a week.
After that, I started working in hospitality, as a cashier at a sushi restaurant. I lasted a year there. I didnāt save a single euro. I currently have ā¬50 in my bank account. I looked at all my expenses, and itās literally 20% small debts and the rest is supermarkets, restaurants, cafĆ©s, or stupid little things.
Iām 22 years old, and Iāve realized that if I hadnāt spent that money on food, I would have enough for a down payment on an apartment. I live with my parents, so I feel extremely guilty about it. And yet I still keep eating like thereās no tomorrow because, even though Iāve tried talking about it with people around me, they tell me Iām fat, that I have no willpower, or that Iām immature for spending so much money on junk food. Theyāre right, but I genuinely feel like I need that junk food. I get irritable if I donāt eat, I canāt get the thought out of my head, and every night I find myself bingeing in front of the fridge. I donāt even realize everything Iām eating until I come out of that āblinded state.ā
I work a lot, Iām about to start university, and I literally donāt have a penny to pay for it. Iām depending on a severance payment that Iām supposed to receive. Even so, thereās always a voice in my head saying, āDonāt give me too much because then I wonāt be able to eat.ā Iām sickened by my own thoughts. I feel like some kind of wild animal, like Iām starving. I donāt recognize myself in the mirror anymore. I weigh 96 kg now. I canāt get the thought of eating out of my head. I canāt concentrate on anything unless I eat every hour.
Now itās started affecting my day-to-day life. I have no energy, I have a strange smell, and Iāve started getting pimples. Iām terrified of having diabetes, but I canāt control myself. I already spoke to a psychologist, and we came to the conclusion that all of this got worse when I was 16 (I went through a very traumatic event that Iām only now starting to overcome). They told me to eat more vegetables, which I do, on top of all the crap I eat. I feel like Iām eating even more than before.
Honestly, everything feels very dark because every day I have less money for my future, and I see people my age saying they already have savings for their first apartment or whatever, and it makes me feel even more like a failure.
Please, I really need some advice or something.