A woman told how she attempted to take her life as a teen after becoming obsessed with why she didn’t look as good as “gorgeous” Photo-shopped celebrities online.
Lauren Ashworth, 21, a Miss Cheshire finalist, would look at women on Facebook and other sites and wonder why they had such clear skin and perfect bodies – not realising in many cases they had been digitally-altered.
“I became really anxious and upset and looking back I think it was because of the internet,” she explained to Fabulous Digital. “I wondered, ‘Why am I not like that?’. “I felt like I wasn’t good enough.
“I thought I was too thin with no boobs when in reality I had a normal 13-year-old girl’s figure.”
Lauren continued: “I had acne – like many teenagers – but I would compare myself to flawlessly skinned celebrities and hate it.
“I now realise that often celebrities online and on Instagram are often Photo-shopped, have had nose jobs, tummy tucks and more surgery.“They aren’t real.”
Lauren, now a bathroom showroom worker from the Wirral, Merseyside, also suffered panic attacks for a number of years and would visit ‘pro-ana’ sites encouraging anorexia and offering weight loss tips.
Aged 16 she tried to take her own life – but with the love and support of friends and family recovered.
And eventually she started eating healthier and realised she was happy with how she looked.