Hi! If you’ve found this blog, you are either: 1) a Nigerian prince, 2) someone struggling with codependency, 3) googled images of lovely curvaceous ladies in a beauty contest, 4) a loyal friend who is curious about what I have to say. I want to make it clear that the reason this blog has its title is because I once naively entered a beauty contest as an overweight teen to try to validate myself. The title is in no way fat shaming anyone. In fact, if I had not been an overweight teen and stopped weighing myself at 240 in my early 20s, I wouldn’t own this title. However, I truly know what it feels like to be the fat girl in the world. I’ve lost over 90 lbs and kept it off for over 10 years. Every day is a struggle. Plus, being in that contest was the first sign that I might need other people’s opinions to validate me which is not only a hallmark sign of codependency, but also atypical depression.

I hope that my experiences as a codependent with atypical depression and anxiety will help someone in some way. Lord knows it has been a struggle.