It started out innocent. These kinds of relationships somehow always do.

In the beginning, sweet smiles and breathless laughs gave you hope. Whenever you heard his name, you couldn't help but get giddy and warm inside. Your smile found itself locked in a helpless battle in which it didn't care if it lost.

But it didn't last. He changed. Or rather, he changed you. Your smile began to grow cynical and critical. It mocked you for your foolishness.

See, this boy had a secret. He lived for control, and you were his next target.

Once the warmth in his eyes dissipated, his wrist tightened around your throat and he began to control your life. You no longer were in control of yourself. You had lost the battle and now had to pay the consequences.

The hum of his voice was always present in the back of your mind, tethering you to the ground. All day you thought about him, finding new ways to try and get out from under his control. But, he didn't just control you, he also controlled your thoughts, ensuring that he was all you thought about.

But it didn't just stop at a juvenile need for attention. The boy grew needier and needier. He began to yell. All you heard in your head was the yelling of a voice in which you once loved.

He never yelled kind things. He knew your weaknesses, your biggest fears, what you hated most about yourself. Like a puppeteer, he used it. He turned your own thoughts against you, using your inner demons to ensure that he remained the successor.

You no longer saw the boy as the enemy. Your enemy was now your own brain.

You tried fighting it, but you lost yourself in the process. Exhaustion set in and you gave in to the voices inside your head. You stopped eating. Slowly, your body and mind began to deteriorate.

But what if I told you he wasn't a person? He doesn't have arms, legs, or even a heart. He's not even a he. What if the boy wasn't even a boy at all. What if he was actually an it, and that it was food.

It might seem odd to have such a deep emotional attachment to food, but if you've ever had an eating disorder, you might just understand the obsession.

Because of the effect that food had on me, I missed out on the little things. But what's unfortunate is often times these little things are what remind you that you need to continue fighting. Never stop fighting no matter how destructive and betraying your thoughts might be.

Never let "him" win.