FEBRUARY 2020 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 35
Eating disorders can impact the mind and body equally. (Getty Images)
UNDERSTANDING EATING DISORDERS
HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS WITH FOOD TAKE DEDICATION
By MICHELLE GABRIELLE CENTAMORE
For Meaghan Wamboldt, 26, of Dix Hills, establishing a healthy relationship with food
and her body took nearly half of her lifetime to accomplish.
“Ever since I was a little girl, I always struggled with body image and self-confidence,”
she recalls.
During her childhood, competitive cheerleading and dance kept her active and fit on
the outside, but by the time she hit her teens, she began to crumble on the inside.
Traumatic experiences, poor self-esteem, anxiety, and depression settled in, resulting
in dangerous eating and lifestyle habits. By her freshman year of college, Wamboldt
was diagnosed with anorexia, alcoholism, depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive
disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Although presently recovered from her
eating disorder, Wamboldt suffers from its physical side effects, including a heart
condition (bradycardia) and infertility.
PRESS HEALTH
WHAT’S INSIDE continued on page 36
40CRISIS 43
THE OPIOID TAKE 5
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
