Miss Costa Rica 2021, Valeria Rees, helps others to overcome anorexia, a battle she struggled with. She shares her experience as well as advice from professionals through the foundation she created, Open Cage Foundation.
She openly shared a photo of herself at her worst in the battle with anorexia. The agency where she modeled asked her to get smaller. She thought if she could lose more and more weight she would be able to model in Milan. She is 1.75 m tall yet weighed only 45 kilos. Her kidneys were on the verge of failing and she nearly became infertile.
She was also facing personal and family problems that made her want to control something, and food became what she could control. She didn’t understand what was happening at the time but now sees it clearly because she’s had the help of professionals.
On her page, she shares messages about normalizing and accepting bodies, the consequences of eating disorders, and alarming behaviors that signal a need for professional help and support overcoming them.
