Brittany Snow is celebrating 17 years of recovery from her eating disorder.
In a moving Instagram post, the 40-year-old actress recalled making “the decision to stop hurting” herself in 2009. Looking back, The Hunting Wives star admitted she couldn’t picture a healthy life at the time.
“Seventeen years ago, I didn’t know if I would make it,” she wrote in the caption. “I couldn’t see a future, and I certainly couldn’t imagine one where I would learn to be kind to myself.”
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Choosing to Heal
Snow has long used her voice to talk openly about her health. She previously discussed her struggles in an interview with Self in which she shared details about her treatment for anorexia, exercise bulimia, depression, and self-harm.
While she spent years carrying severe “disdain” for her body, she credited her friends and family with helping her realize she deserved a way out.
“My friends saw me, heard me, helped me. My family loved me through it,” she wrote. “And somewhere underneath the noise, there was a tiny voice inside me that kept saying: don’t give up. There is so much more to your story,” adding, “There was so much beauty ahead that I couldn’t see yet. So much love.”
Getting treatment helped her build a new life and gave her the strength to fight for others.
“If someone had told me then that I would not only live, but one day have a beautiful, full life, free from the cycle of self-destruction and my eating disorder… I truly don’t think I would have believed them,” she continued.
Encouraging Fans to Get Help
Snow turned her message into an open letter to anyone currently going through their own mental health battle.
“So many people have stood where you are standing,” she wrote. “There is life beyond the place you are in today, even if you can’t picture it yet. One day, the story you fought so hard to keep living may become someone else’s survival guide.”
She tagged several mental health organizations in her post, including the National Alliance for Eating Disorders and The Mental Health Coalition, to help connect followers directly with free support resources.
“One of the greatest gifts of making it through is being able to turn around and share the hope I couldn’t see possible,” she concluded.
If you or someone you know is struggling with body image or eating concerns, confidential support is available through the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) helpline at 1-800-931-2237 or by texting “NEDA” to 741741 for 24/7 crisis support.
