Carre Otis

Eating disorders, body dysmorphia and a general dissatisfaction with one's life and body seems to ail too many young people.

You have to find a balance with food in your life - you can't take out food. It can be absolutely terrifying.

Just because you're a different size doesn't mean you're sitting on the couch eating bonbons all day long watching TV.

My own path towards wellness has been a long and dynamic one. It's taught me that healing from the inside out takes time and there can be great value in various sources of guidance.

Part of treatment for drugs and alcohol is you abstain from these, but with eating disorders you can't abstain from food so the treatment is longer than drugs and alcohol.

Motherhood has brought me many joys and insights, but the new perspective it granted me on the role I had inadvertently played in young women's lives for the 2 decades I spent in the modeling industry was downright sobering.

I delight in my family obligations, but they leave little time for breaks let alone quick trips across the country.

Being born and raised as a Californian, I somewhat ignorantly had taken for granted the diversity and liberal mindset that shaped my childhood and adult life.

We come in many different shapes and sizes, and we need to support each other and our differences. Our beauty is in our differences.

I've found that balance is key. I'm no longer an extremist in any one direction.

There comes a moment as a parent when you realize you will no longer be the center of your child's universe.

I had dropped out of school and was a runaway, so I didn't have family to fall back on if I didn't work. I didn't have a lot of other options of making money other than modeling.