SARASOTA, Fla. (SNN TV) — The COVID-19 pandemic hit Arya Doshi in a big way, but it had nothing to do with the virus itself.
The Suncoast teen then discovered through the pandemic how her isolation and troubles turned into worldwide connections.
“When you’re a teenager, you are focused on your appearance. You’re focused on how you present yourself to other teenagers. We’re judgy!” said Doshi, a senior at Pine View School.
Doshi said coming from an Indian family, she was told growing up she was too skinny. When the COVID pandemic hit in 2020, she was glued to social media.
“There were many topics on diet culture. It [was] kind of ways to keep active during the pandemic,” Doshi explained.
It was because of this that she developed an eating disorder — anorexia. She would “save calories” for the weekend and eat little to nothing during the week. Eventually, she decided this wasn’t sustainable.
“I was ashamed of it, and I wanted to talk to other teens in a way that didn’t have me feeling judged,” said Doshi. “And one way to do that is to actually speak to them anonymously.”
She started with an online chat room called “Your Teen Body.”
“I wanted to create a website from there. I created a journal with a local nutritionist, and she approved it. Then people would have a chance to read about other people’s experiences,” Doshi said.
Her website, YourTeenBody.com is geared toward education about teen body image. Sharing stories is one of those ways to educate.
She wrote her story first, detailing her shame about her body image.
