Woman who once weighed four stone credits Sheffield charity that saved her from eating disorder
A woman has credited a Sheffield charity who ‘loved her back to life’ and helped her break free from a powerful eating disorder.
Jess Bramhall, 37, weighed just four stone when she arrived in Sheffield nine years ago to join a residential programme called restore, run by the City Hearts charity for women with life controlling issues.
On the programme for 14 months, it helped her deal with her eating disorder, OCD, depression and post traumatic stress disorder brought on through childhood trauma.
As a child, Jess went to live in the USA with her parents and brother, who went out there to work for a church.
Sadly her mum became very ill as she began to work through the extreme trauma she had experienced as a child. When the time came for the family to return to the UK (Surrey), Jess’ s mother was unable to leave America as she was receiving specialist treatment.
"My mum loved me very much and desperately wanted to be with her family, but it was unsafe for her to return to England because of what she had spoken up about.
It was three years before I saw her again. I became subject to abuse myself, at the hands of another child. This made me angry and confused and I learned to block it out of my mind and became very aggressive.
As a teenager I started to artificially put myself in control of my life through my rituals and routines. I became extremely depressed and at times became paranoid.
I couldn't see an escape from the battles in my mind, they locked me into a severely ordered life.
One of the things I controlled was my eating and at my lowest point I weighed less than four stones.
I desperately wanted to gain weight but the rules in my head controlled my every move.
Between the ages of 16 and 28 I was admitted to hospital ten times for treatment for severe weight loss and depression. I was suicidal a lot of the time and just wanted my life to be over.
Four times my parents were told to prepare for my death, and I was encouraged to plan my own funeral. My weight loss had left me with severe osteoporosis at just 21. I was one of the youngest people in the country have it to such a severe degree.
By 2010 I had exhausted every service the NHS had to offer. Nothing worked.
Then I found out about the Restore programme run by City Hearts, the Sheffield-founded national charity which works with women with life controlling issues and survivors of modern day slavery.
I came to Sheffield, lived at the programme's house for 14 months and found staff who cared about me and genuinely wanted to see me succeed.
I was met with hope - they saw me as a person, not an illness.
Patiently and gently the staff helped me break my controlling routines. They literally loved me back to life.
I became a volunteer with City Hearts after graduating the programme - it gave me purpose. When I was well enough I took on paid work with the charity, and eventually in 2015 became a full-time member of staff.
As a Health and Wellbeing support worker I can empathise with so many issues people go through after they have been trafficked or experienced trauma - the way they feel about themselves, the issues that come from that; I can recognise them and offer understanding and help.
Being able to work for the very organisation which saved my life, to help others find freedom from their own fears, is the most wonderful gift I could have been given.
My life is so different. I now have a wonderful relationship with my family. My mum is one of my best friends.
Physically I am stronger than I have ever been - and I love to cook. I'm also the unofficial 'catering manager' for my church! My issues with food are definitely behind me."
To volunteer, donate, fundraise or intern at City Hearts, see https://city-hearts.co.uk/getinvolved
For more details or to book an interview, Kate Partlow is City Hearts’ communications officer 0114 213 2066 mobile (media use only): 07936 349 914 kate.partlow@cityhearts.co.uk office