A WOMAN who has battled mental health issues since the age of 11, and now blogs about the issue, has won a St David Award.

Savannah Lloyd was honoured with the Young Person Award at a ceremony on Thursday for her work - which uses her own experiences to reach out and help others in similar situations via her blog and social media.

The 19-year-old, from Trinant, said: “When I was 11, I was being bullied at school and started to have anxiety, depression and anorexia.

“But I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 16, which made it quite difficult.

“I didn’t know what to do.

“Social media was a big help for me so I decided to start my own blog about a year ago.

“Because my blog helps other people, it helps me.”

Her blog - called Saving Savannah - has gained more than 1,000 followers, from Facebook.

Miss Lloyd said: “It was difficult to write at first, but it got easier.

“I try to write every day.

“There is a post called ‘eight things you should not say to a person with mental health issues’ which gets a lot of views.”

Miss Lloyd still experiences anxiety sometimes, she added, which can make it difficult to carry out day to day activities.

It has also seen her pull out of meeting up with friends and avoid other social situations.

“Anxiety is probably one of the main issues,” she said. “My eating disorder is fine, but you always think the same way.

“You recover physically, but your mind is a lot harder to change.

“You may still think of food as bad, for example.

“It is very easy to relapse.”

Miss Lloyd weighed just six stones when she was diagnosed with anorexia in June 2014, losing 31 per cent of her body weight in around 14 months.

She added: “Even now trying to manage my weight is hard, as my metabolism has suffered.”

Miss Lloyd, who is in her second year of early childhood studies at Oxford University, said she is currently taking medication and receiving support.

“Going to university was quite a big change but it has my feel independent,” she said. “It has been a very positive experience.”

The St David Awards are the national awards of Wales and are nominated for by the public.

A spokeswoman said: These awards demonstrate that this country is a vibrant, innovative and confident nation, which values its people above all else.”

To find out more about Miss Lloyd and what she does, visit savingsavannah.org or facebook.com/savingsavannahalicia