Jane Fonda's journey to recovery: Overcoming an eating disorder
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Content warning: This article mentions eating disorders.
Although it's already been six decades since Hollywood superstar Jane Fonda’s rise to fame, she has been keeping her fans up to date with her career and personal life through social media.
But one thing she chose to leave partially concealed was her struggles with an eating disorder, the ‘toll’ it took on her, and how she overcame it.
Recently, the Oscar-winning actress opened up about how she overcame an eating disorder that she battled during her teenage years, progressing throughout her twenties, and continuing in her thirties.
While appearing on The Checkup – a series where celebrities share their personal struggles with health issues with Dr David Agus, Jane reflected on her experience and recovery from both bulimia and anorexia.
During the talk, she told Dr Agus how she wasn’t aware that there was a name for the disorders she was experiencing. She mentioned that she didn’t know she could seek treatment for it, too, in the early 1960s.
‘If I had to do it over, I’d probably go to a 12-step program or something, but I didn’t know what it was,’ she said.
The 84-year-old actress told the renowned medic how her eating disorder ‘began to take over her life’, and how this impacted her career and lifestyle.
‘I was married, I had children, I was politically active, I was raising money, I was an actor, I was making movies. I couldn't do it all because the older you get, the more toll it takes on you,’ she admitted.
She added that every time she went on a ‘binge and purge’, it would take her three or four days to recover fully. ‘I just couldn’t do the lifestyle that I wanted to do,’ Jane shared.
Jane revealed that her wake-up call came when she realised her life was ‘worth improving’.
‘I just decided that I would stop, and it was really, really hard,’ she said. Despite the difficult road to recovery, she reassured people that they can recover from eating disorders ‘100 per cent’.
The Grace and Frankie star has never shied away from discussing her health battles on social media. In September, she announced on Instagram that she has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer that attacks the body’s germ-fighting immune system.
In her post, she said that she’s just started chemo treatments and said that what she had been diagnosed with was a ‘very treatable cancer’.
’80 per cent of people survive, so I feel very lucky,’ she wrote.
We here at SDC applaud Jane and her belief that if you’re struggling with health issues, it’s important to not be alone and to try and reach out and connect with the right kind of help and support.
If you, or someone you know, are struggling with an eating disorder, you can find help, support and resources through The Butterfly Foundation: 1800 33 4673.
Although it's already been six decades since Hollywood superstar Jane Fonda’s rise to fame, she has been keeping her fans up to date with her career and personal life through social media.
But one thing she chose to leave partially concealed was her struggles with an eating disorder, the ‘toll’ it took on her, and how she overcame it.
Recently, the Oscar-winning actress opened up about how she overcame an eating disorder that she battled during her teenage years, progressing throughout her twenties, and continuing in her thirties.
While appearing on The Checkup – a series where celebrities share their personal struggles with health issues with Dr David Agus, Jane reflected on her experience and recovery from both bulimia and anorexia.
Jane Fonda is a well-known activist. Credit: Shutterstock
During the talk, she told Dr Agus how she wasn’t aware that there was a name for the disorders she was experiencing. She mentioned that she didn’t know she could seek treatment for it, too, in the early 1960s.
‘If I had to do it over, I’d probably go to a 12-step program or something, but I didn’t know what it was,’ she said.
The 84-year-old actress told the renowned medic how her eating disorder ‘began to take over her life’, and how this impacted her career and lifestyle.
‘I was married, I had children, I was politically active, I was raising money, I was an actor, I was making movies. I couldn't do it all because the older you get, the more toll it takes on you,’ she admitted.
She added that every time she went on a ‘binge and purge’, it would take her three or four days to recover fully. ‘I just couldn’t do the lifestyle that I wanted to do,’ Jane shared.
Jane opens up about her health during the segment. Credit: Shutterstock
Jane revealed that her wake-up call came when she realised her life was ‘worth improving’.
‘I just decided that I would stop, and it was really, really hard,’ she said. Despite the difficult road to recovery, she reassured people that they can recover from eating disorders ‘100 per cent’.
The Grace and Frankie star has never shied away from discussing her health battles on social media. In September, she announced on Instagram that she has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer that attacks the body’s germ-fighting immune system.
In her post, she said that she’s just started chemo treatments and said that what she had been diagnosed with was a ‘very treatable cancer’.
’80 per cent of people survive, so I feel very lucky,’ she wrote.
If you, or someone you know, are struggling with an eating disorder, you can find help, support and resources through The Butterfly Foundation: 1800 33 4673.
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