Brittany Snow shared a powerful message on her recovery years after opening up about body image issues and struggling with anorexia and exercise bulimia.
“TW: ED,” the actress, 40, began her Instagram post discussing a sensitive subject, telling her followers, “trigger warning: eating disorder.”
“Today, September 17th, marks 17 years of recovery for me,” Snow wrote on Thursday. “I’ve heard they call that a golden anniversary. And somehow, that feels fitting.”
She noted that her movie Parachute, which came out in 2023, is about the day she decided to stop “hurting” herself. “The day I chose to bet on myself, even when I couldn’t yet imagine what a life on the other side might look like.”
“Seventeen years ago, I didn’t know if I would make it. I couldn’t see a future, and I certainly couldn’t imagine one where I would learn to be kind to myself,” Snow shared. “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 went on to say that her friends and family helped her through the difficult time, along with a voice in her head that kept telling her, “Don’t give up. There is so much more to your story.”
“There was so much beauty ahead that I couldn’t see yet. So much love,” Snow wrote. “And one of the greatest gifts of making it through is being able to turn around and share the hope I couldn’t see possible.”
Snow concluded her post by sending an encouraging message to her fans. “If you’re struggling right now, please know you are not alone. So many people have stood where you are standing. There is life beyond the place you are in today, even if you can’t picture it yet,” she wrote. “One day, the story you fought so hard to keep living may become the very story someone else needs to hear.”
“I’m 17 years on the other side today. I’m so grateful I stayed ✨✨✨,” she added.
Snow has been candid about her eating disorder through the years. In 2025, she opened up to Self about undergoing treatments to also combat depression and self-harm.
“I had so much disdain for my body and I couldn’t see myself as a functional, beautiful being. I only saw the things that were wrong with me,” she recalled.
Snow ultimately overcame her disorder by talking to herself “like a kid.”
“I’d be like, ‘OK, baby girl, do you want a bagel? Let’s get you a bagel. We’re going to toast it. We’re going to put some cream cheese on it. Is that all you can eat? OK, that’s OK.’”
Eventually, she realized that she was hearing “whatever [she] wanted.” She added, “I was talking to myself like someone I loved. And then I just never stopped doing that.”
If you or someone you know struggles with an eating disorder, visit the National Alliance for Eating Disorders website or call their hotline at (866) 662-1235. Text “ALLIANCE” to 741741 for free, 24/7 support.
