Christmas social media posts help teen battle anorexia

A 19-year-old whose anorexia recovery videos have gone viral has created a "fear food" advent calendar to continue challenging her eating disorder at Christmas.

Megan Shaw, from Bournemouth, has taken to TikTok to publicly commit to Anorexia Nervosa recovery, educating and inspiring hundreds of others along the way.

Her page has more than 75,000 followers and she has received more than 3.5 million likes on her recovery-related content.

She said: “It’s such an unspoken about topic that everyone thinks is taboo but it's not. It's everywhere and it really needs talking about more.”

Miss Shaw started her page after she was accepted to her dream drama school and realised that she had to recover if she was going to live independently

Making videos became a way for Miss Shaw to document her recovery and feature the foods she used to avoid in the run-up to Christmas.

She said: “I was in such a dark place and I had no-one to talk to about it. I didn’t think that anyone understood me but there are so many people that go through the same thing.

"I wanted to show them that life does get better.”

Her page grew quickly when she began challenging her "fear foods", which she explained were “an irrational fear over a food that your eating disorder tells you to be afraid of”.

"By avoiding these foods it makes you feel safe but keeps you trapped within your eating disorder," she added.

Miss Shaw filled a jar with all of her "fear foods" and recorded herself tackling them, gaining millions of views.

Miss Shaw created a "fear food advent calendar" to continue challenging her eating disorder in the run-up to Christmas

"A lot of Christmas is centred around food", she said, making it a difficult time for those struggling with eating disorders.

“People can’t enjoy what is supposed to be the best time of the year because they’re scared of having that extra roast potato.

“It breaks my heart because that roast potato isn’t going to harm you.

“No food will harm you as much as your eating disorder will.”

She has planned to tackle a different "fear food" for every day of advent

Her videos have received an overwhelmingly positive response.

Miss Shaw said the comments "make it worthwhile" and she "loves" that she has "created a safe space where people can comment with no judgement".

“Even some of my friends, who didn’t know what I was going through, reached out to me and said 'thank you so much for talking about this, I struggle too'.”

Her dad, Duncan Shaw, said: "Megan's face has become known a little bit.

“A few weeks ago a mother and daughter (the daughter suffered with anorexia) went into a cafe where Megan was having a cup of coffee and the mother burst into tears and said 'Megan I’m so grateful for what you’ve done for me and my daughter'.”

Her mum, Siân Shaw, added: “If even just one person recovers because of Megan that person and that family will be delighted."

Miss Shaw receives comments daily about how helpful her content is

Tom Quinn, director of external affairs at Beat, a leading charity for eating disorder support, said: "We know that some people with eating disorders find online accounts helpful during their recovery.

"For instance, social media enables people to meet others in similar situations, share recovery wins, learn more about the support available, and encourage others to reach out for treatment.

"It can also be incredibly inspiring to hear from people who have recovered from an eating disorder."

However, the charity does also warn users to be careful.

"Social media can be a dangerous place for those affected by eating disorders", Mr Quinn added.

"We'd urge people to be cautious when using social media during their recovery as some content can be incredibly triggering. "

Mum Dr Siân Shaw said she found "looking at her comments the nicest part"

Miss Shaw's parents have described their daughter's journey as a "miracle".

Dr Siân Shaw said she had "never thought" of posting on social media "as a therapeutic technique to get better from a mental illness".

She said that it had been "difficult to keep it together" over the past few festive seasons.

"We would be dreading the Christmas meal", Dr Duncan Shaw explained.

"This year, to have Megan join in and eat the meal without there being any fear of her having a panic attack during the meal is revolutionary."

Miss Shaw added: "I can enjoy chocolate now!"

If you are affected by any of the issues in this story, you can find support at BBC Action Line.