West Island organization offers free help for eating disorder sufferers

Linda Paetow started to "stress eat" when she was in university. It was also around that timethat she occasionally started to purge.

During a volunteer trip to Africa, however, the bingeing and purging became a habit.

"It's just like any addictive behaviour, the actual action of it," Paetow said. "You feel a relief of stress."

Whiletraining for the trip, she was told women tend to eat more when away on long trips, but men tended to lose weight. The idea made Paetow panic.

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"I was often invited to people's homes to join them for meals," she recalled. "I was constantly eating. Consequently I panicked, so I purged."

"That's where I began to purge almost everything that I ate. And I came back. I had lost a significant amount of weight. It was dangerous."

Paetow had dropped from 135 to 110 pounds and was no longer menstruating. She was 27 years old.

It took another three years before Paetow realized she needed to get help andfound it in Pointe-Claire, atAnorexia and Bulimia Quebec (ANEB).

Offering free services

ANEBis one of 40 non-profit agenciessupported by West Island Community Shares, thebeneficiaryof this year'sCBC Montreal Christmas Sing-In charity drive.

It offers people suffering from eating disordersfree group sessions, a hotline and online services toget people the help they needquickly.

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"When you realize that you have a problem and you need immediate assistance, thatservice is free, right away," saidJoseChampagne, ANEB Quebec's executive director.

"With eating disorders, there arevery few services out there, so it's not rare for people to be on waiting lists for over a year."

Heart-stopping warning

By the time Paetow contacted ANEB, she was bingeing and purging three times a day. Then came the heart palpitations.

"One night my heart stopped for a few seconds and that really, really scared me, so I realized that I needed help," she said.

The funding that ANEB receives from West Island Community Shares is critical, said Champagne. "Recurrent funding for groups like ANEB is very rare right now," she said.

The average annual income of people who use ANEB is$35,000 or less. The people that rely on the organization's services come from all walks of life, but they're mainly adult women.

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"There's a myth [it's] rich little girls that suffer from this, and in my experience, it's so far from the truth," said Champagne.

Now 44, Paetowbinged and purged for the last time about eight years ago. She has recovered from her eating disorder and is now the mother of three young children.

They don't know about her past experience with bulimia yet, but she plans on telling them eventually.

She said she also makes sure to stress to her daughter that her inner qualities are what make her beautiful.

• Donate here to CBC's 2016 Sing-In charity: West Island Community Shares