The Wall EP.21 - Anorexia, a Psychiatric Hospital, and Recovery with Jess McCaul

The Wall by Stephanie O'Quigley

Jess McCaul - a blogger from Longford in Ireland - suffered from anorexia for eleven years. After doctors diagnosed her with osteoporosis and osteopenia at just twenty-six years of age, Jess decided that enough was enough. It was from this point that she began her fight against the eating disorder, determined to not let it win.

Jess speaks about her low points throughout the years of the eating disorder and how it took away so much of her young life; not being able to go for a coffee with friends, not going to events or parties and spending a lot of time at home trying to stay warm and being consumed by her mental illness. After working with her GP for some time, Jess explains how she felt like she had no choice but to fight for the funding for the inpatient treatment that she knew she needed in Saint John of God's Psychiatric Hospital in Dublin. She reveals that she didn’t have the strength to recover with outpatient treatment alone and if she didn’t get the care she needed, illness could’ve potentially killed her.

After two years, Jess was finally granted the funding she needed for her 14 weeks at the psychiatric hospital that she says saved her life. It’s been a full 12 months since she was discharged and despite the 2020 pandemic, she is still feeling positive about her ever-changing road to recovery and is on a mission to spread awareness around mental illnesses.

Jess can be found on Instagram - @JesskaDenise - and on her website www.JesskaDenise.com.

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