A tragedy worsened? Amy Winehouse and bulimia

 I've tried hard to make sure this piece is not triggering but please take care

I wouldn't ordinarily engage in speculative writing. All too often thinly evidenced articles are bounced about which essentially say someone - by this I mean a celebrity -  'looks' like they're having a breakdown, or that sources (who are in most cases very far removed from whichever individual it is) have indicated so-and-so has been eating less/drinking more/taking pills. Ultimately it amounts to damaging hearsay about a real, actual, in-possession-of-emotions, person's private life. This however I feel is different. In a piece that's all over the internet today Alex Winehouse, brother to the late Amy, has stated in his first interview since her death that his belief is that she died of bulimia. 

Amy died almost 2 years ago aged 27. I can remember finding out, through twitter, that she had been found dead and my reaction was bizarre. I was saddened, disappointed and shocked, but for some reason I wasn't surprised. I know this response wasn't unique, Amy's battle with drugs and alcohol had become public, as had her relationship, with photographs plastered in every newspaper of her apparent deterioration. With her brother's detail about her ongoing problems with eating it could be said that everyone was too quick to judge her lifestyle. She was a beautiful artist, with feeling in what she sang, and her brother's interview has only made listening to her music sadder for me. I'm noticing lyrics that I didn't before, and the meaning that could be behind them.

Alex said that despite the recording of misadventure for her death, 'what really killed her was the bulimia' because her lengthy fight with it had made her 'weaker, more susceptible.' He was recorded saying that Amy had developed the illness in her late teens alongside some of her friends, but had never herself managed to stop. The last thing I read of his interview was stressing the need to raise awareness of bulimia - a 'dark, dark issue' - which is definitely something I'd support. 

From my own experience, barely anyone has even heard of EDNOS (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified) despite the fact that according to some statistics it accounts for more diagnoses than all other eating disorders combined.

 People hear eating disorder and assume restrictive eating, when in many cases that description doesn't fit. Although most people have basic knowledge of what bulimia is, true understanding is rare. The prolonged torment it causes is hardly ever spoken about. I've 'exhibited bulimic tendencies' within my EDNOS diagnosis before and all I'll say is they were the worst months of my life. Bulimia can, unfortunately, affect people for years, and hearing of Amy's connection to the illness has made her story all the more important to share and learn from.