‘My parents thought I was athletic and just slim – not realising I had an eating disorder’ – woman battling anorexia half her life

Lauren Gaffney opens up on her years-long anorexia battle, how she copes now and the dire need for more facilities to help sufferers

‘It’s like another voice living within your body’ – Lauren Gaffney on battling anorexia half her life

Adrianna Wrona

It was a routine medical check-up for a school trip abroad that first alerted Lauren Gaffney’s parents to the fact she was an unhealthy weight.

“My mum and dad knew that I was struggling in ways, but we always thought, ‘Lauren’s quite athletic and just slim’, not realising that it was an issue,” she told the Irish Independent.