050 Charlotte Fraser: Overcoming an eating disorder during her pharmacy degree and wanting to quit pharmacy, to thriving in her role as a trainee pharmacist at Boots

You can now watch the full episode on YouTube!

On today's episode, I am delighted to introduce a trainee pharmacist and Kings College London Alumni, Charlotte Fraser. I came a across a post on Linked In that Charlotte had written last week for World Mental Health Day.

I'm going to share part of her post as her thoughts and feelings were so honest and brave.

"Mental health. Everyone has one. Like physical health some health is better than others. It can fluctuate depending on the day and how much care and attention you’ve put into yourself. Unlike a lot of physical health problems though, it can be hard to explain. It can also amount to physical health problems. So why is it overlooked so much? Its estimated that 1 in 6 people have had a mental health problem in the last week but sadly this figure could, in truth, be higher.

Over two years ago I developed an eating disorder after a period of instability in my life. It was my coping mechanism - not a healthy one at that but it gave me, sadly, some comfort. Years before that I had mild depression and anxiety and the point of life seemed absent to me. At the dark stage of my eating disorder I decided I HAD to get help. For at least a year before this point I would consider filling in forms to get help and then when it came to it I would refuse the therapy offered to me. I now see therapy as being the best things I’ve ever done. It changed my life and my mindset. It gave me back my life.

What changed? I focused on me. I sat through discomfort which was at some times even physically painful. I found what made me happy, even the little things - colouring books, reading, walking, appreciating nature around me. I reflected on why I felt certain ways and found my triggers. SELF CARE AND DATING YOURSELF IS NOT SELFISH. It’s one of the things that I tell so many people close to me to do because you have you for the rest of your life.

One of the big things I did was speaking out. To anyone. Start the conversation because truthfully, most people have dark days and can relate to you in some ways. Do NOT be ashamed. You are worthy."

Today, Charlotte demonstrates her courage by coming onto the podcast to talk about her personal journey and how she is working on overcoming her anxieties and fears. I thoroughly enjoyed my evening having such a deep and reflective conversation and I am really proud of how she has approached this journey and where she is today.

Social media:

Linkedin - Charlotte Fraser

Full episode on YouTube

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Thanks to Stay Whole for video editing and production. 

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