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Former model speaks about anorexia
By Staff Report
 Media Credit: Leslie Andres/News Editor Ruth Johnson, an SCSU grad and former model, sings Thursday in Atwood Theater. Johnson spoke and sang about her life battling anorexia as part of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. She was diagnosed with the disease while working in Paris.
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SCSU students, along with professors and other community members, filled Atwood Theater Thursday to listen to Ruth Johnson's story of how she overcame anorexia.
Johnson, a former model and SCSU grad, began by telling everyone that she wanted to leave them knowing that she beat the disease and so can anyone else. There is hope and there is a cure.
By the time Johnson was 5, she was already thinking of herself in a physical way. She was unhappy with herself. Whenever she was given new pants, she would give herself what she called the "pants test." This consisted of her kneeling down in front of the mirror to see how wide her thighs spread.
On days that she didn't like how her thighs looked, she would have to change her pants until she felt confident with what she was wearing.
Growing up as the third child out of five, Johnson felt as though she would always be stuck in the middle. She believed that she was the chubby one and would just have to learn to deal with it.
As she got older and became involved with music, theater and sports in high school, Johnson hated her looks. Her theater teacher told her that she could model if she wanted to, so she went to get a headshot done. The photographer told her that if she lost 15 pounds, she could make it to Paris, France. Flattered and hopeful that someone would appreciate her looks, she lost the weight.
After graduating from high school, Johnson was going to go to college. She had no idea what she wanted to do with her life and figured that was what she was supposed to do.
That was until she was presented with the opportunity go to New York on a modeling contract. Johnson thought that New York was going to be a great experience.
Arriving in New York, she found all eight of her roommates lounging in their sweat pants, as they indulged in drinking and hard drugs. Johnson was unhappy and wanted to get out of there.
Her friends and family were worried about her health. Johnson tricked herself into believing that eating just carrots everyday was healthy, even though it caused her to black out every now and then. She had no worries and thought as long as she didn't take drugs and liquor, she would be OK.
Knowing that Johnson was unhappy and wanted to get out of New York, her agent from Minnesota called her on a Friday and asked if she wanted to go to Paris on Monday. He asked if she had been gaining weight, and told her to see what she could do about it by Monday. Johnson was actually losing weight, but was willing to do whatever it took.
Johnson went to the library and read about how many calories she had to burn in order for her to lose three to five pounds. Between running 20 miles and taking laxatives, Johnson reached her goal and lost five pounds in three days. Everyone in Paris loved her and she felt as though losing the weight had helped her accomplish something.
Johnson's excitement of being in Paris soon faded. She didn't speak French and had no roommates. She was lonely and began hating Paris. At this time, Johnson was 5 feet 8 inches and only 90 pounds. Because she couldn't read the nutrition labels, she didn't eat and lost 30 pounds while in Paris.
Johnson was finding more and more work, but soon realized that the only reason that people wanted her around was for her looks, not for who she was. She wanted people to like her for her voice, and listen to what she had to say.
One day while on her daily run around the Eiffel Tower, she passed out and woke up covered in blood and dirt. A doctor who spoke English gave her an ultimatum, she either had to go to treatment for "severe anorexia nervosa with severe depression and bullimic tendencies" or go back home to Minnesota. She gladly went back home � anything to get away from Paris.
Embarrassed, Johnson called her agent lying, saying that she had food poisoning and would have to go back home.
When Johnson returned to Minnesota she signed herself into treatment where she lost even more weight. She said that she "fell into the disorder after it was diagnosed." Now that she knew what was wrong with her, she used it as an excuse to not eat.
Two years of treatment and therapy made her realize that she was hurting her body and needed to stop. One of her ways to reach out to others is through her book in progress, "She Has a Voice." Now, at 23, Johnson is a survivor of her sickness and speaks out to others to teach about the disease.
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