HYPNOSIS treatment has helped a Thornbury woman to overcome a battle with anorexia nervosa after developing the disorder while training as a gymnast.

Ellie Phipps, 20, a teaching assistant and gymnastics coach, weighed as little as 5 stone 13lbs while struggling with the eating disorder and was at the point where doctors feared her organs could fail.

But then she underwent a treatment which involved accessing unconscious memories to find the underlying cause.

She has said that following her five sessions with neuro-linguistic practitioner Nicky Maidment of PurpleMinds, from Clifton, Bristol, she has developed a healthier attitude to food.

Miss Phipps said: “I remembered waiting in a queue at gym class to be weighed. Then my friends either side started to panic that they would be overweight. I said ‘it will be ok,’ but inside I started to worry that I’d be the fat one. This stuck with me and I also wanted to be the perfect girl.”

Her hair started to fall out, her once flawless skin suffered outbreaks of acne and doctors warned her she was at risk of infertility and bone fractures.

Her mum became desperate she started seeking alternative therapies, which is when she came across Ms Maidment, whose work involves hypnosis and timeline re-imprinting, re-visiting the past and addressing the cause.

Nicky said: “We had thought maybe it stemmed from seeing unrealistic images in magazines, but in fact it was from an incident when she was 14 and had forgotten about. It’s about finding the specific root cause and not just treating the symptom.”

Ellie, who now weighs eight stone and follows a balanced meal plan, saw a photo of herself on holiday looking emaciated and knew she needed to change.

She said: “I didn’t like having my photo taken because deep down I knew how poorly I looked. It was a horrible photo and I wondered what I had done to myself.

“I was obsessed with calories and lived off tiny portions of toast and fruit. But it was barely enough to survive on and in time it affected me both physically and mentally.

“I came to understand the root of the problem and was able to learn to love and nurture myself again.

“I now feel a lot happier and am almost back to my old self. I feel much more confident and am working and enjoying spending time with my loved ones.”