Instagram Influencer Who Shared Anorexia Struggle Dies From Heart Failure

German Instagram influencer Josi Maria, who shared her anorexia struggles with the world, has died after going two days without food. Maria was preparing for a vacation to Gran Canaria when she succumbed to heart failure. Josi’s mother posted a message under her last picture, confirming her death.

“Josi asked if I could give her a brief hug and lie down with her for a moment. I then did that in the hope that she would eat something. I fell asleep shortly after her,” Vanja Rasova, Josi’s friend, said. “When I woke up shortly after midnight, I noticed that she was no longer breathing. I tried to wake her up. When it didn’t work, I went down to reception to get help.”

Josi had 135,000 followers and posted pictures of herself often. Josi said she posted pictures of herself to share her journey.

“… I am on a journey, and I want you to join me. I want to share my thoughts and show that I am actively fighting anorexia. I also want to say that we should not hide ourselves away no matter what psychological illnesses we have,” Josi wrote underneath a photo of herself.

According to NIH, anorexia nervosa has a mortality rate of 10%. Josi said she didn’t want to die from the disorder.

“I don’t want to be one in 10 who die from anorexia.”