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Glennon Doyle, a 46-year-old author and activist, talked about anorexia and her mental health diagnosis on her podcast We Can Do Hard Things on January 3, 2022. Doyle shared an Instagram post as she announced the topic for her next discussion on her podcast.
Anorexia nervosa, commonly known as anorexia, is an eating disorder where an individual changes their food habits drastically. They cut down on calories and carbs, which eventually leads to weight loss. Anorexic patients fail to maintain appropriate body weight according to their age, height, and stature. They may resort to compulsive exercise routines and feel the need to purge the food they eat either by intentional vomiting or misuse of laxatives.
Generally, patients with anorexia develop a distorted self-image and have intense fear and anxiety about gaining weight. Extreme weight loss in anorexic patients can even lead to malnutrition and other dangerous health problems. In severe cases, the patient may also die.
Glennon Doyle is the founder of the non-profit organization, Together Rising, which is an all-women-led organization. Together Rising has raised over $25 million for children, women, and families in crisis. Doyle is also the author of Untamed, the #1 New York Times bestseller. When the book came out, it sold over one million copies in less than five months. She also wrote Love Warrior and Carry on, Warrior.
Glennon Doyle was married to Craig Melton from 2002 to 2016 and the duo share three children together. In 2016, she met Abby Wambach and claimed that she instantly fell in love. They tied the knot in 2017 and in 2021, the couple moved to Hermosa Beach, California.
Glennon Doyle initially thought she was suffering from bulimia relapses
Doyle usually hosts her We Can Do Hard Things podcast alongside her wife, Abby Wambach, a former American soccer player who is now a coach, and her sister, Amanda Doyle.
In her latest podcast, Glennon Doyle stated that she believed she was recovering from bulimia, an eating disorder. However, after years of holding on to that belief, Doyle was diagnosed with anorexia, which led to her going into denial and being in a state of shock.
Initially, Glennon Doyle sought medical help because she thought she was relapsing from bulimia. She told the doctors that she needed to understand how to get these relapses under control so she could be less scared and free from any impending danger.
As per Today, after her medical evaluation, Doyle was informed by her doctor that her health history and medical tests determined that she was suffering from anorexia. The news was evidently upsetting for her.
Doyle went on to describe how difficult it was for her to realize that healing from anorexia would require her to stay strong. She shared an intimate conversation between her and her wife in the kitchen, where Wambach told her that she could not do much for Doyle and that the latter had to find the strength to fight the battle herself.
According to Today, on the paid podcast, Wambach told Doyle:
"This was a hard thing for me to say. I knew I had to say it — it had to be out loud — because you needed to take complete ownership over this process."
In response, Doyle told viewers that she remembered being chilled to the bone at the time. She said she had never felt more alone in her own body. Doyle added that everyone was telling her she was the one who was sick and that she was also the one who had to fix her sickness.
Soon after, Glennon Doyle started going through books on anorexia to educate herself more about the eating disorder. She mentioned that this brought a huge shift in her thinking.
Doyle expressed how she felt when she read the books and said:
"I started reading this book about what an anorexic's life looks like. I don't know how to explain the feeling of, reading things that you thought were part of your personality and who you were, and reading that they're actually just a collection of symptoms, of an effing disease."
Doyle told viewers that it was astonishing that she was a person whose work was based on introspection and talking about the nuances of the identity of human beings, yet she did not know this information about herself. Doyle said it was humiliating for her to an extent.
Doyle revealed that she was still in the middle of her battle with anorexia. She looked back at how nearly two decades ago, she dealt with bulimia. Doyle informed that she was “horrifically bulimic” for a long time before getting pregnant.
While talking about defeating bulimia, Glennon Doyle recalled how she used strong discipline, control, and willpower to conquer the eating disorder.
In the Instagram video, where Doyle teased the podcast episode, she said that she would rather talk about her anorexia while she was still in the middle of it, rather than wait to open up about it when her life is “nice and shiny” again.
