An eating disorder can create a false narrative dictating that joy and adventure must be earned through discipline and control. Ordinary experiences, like traveling and trying new foods, can provoke deep-seated fears. Recovery is often not straightforward, filled with challenges and setbacks, but ultimately leads to the realization that one can embrace life on their own terms, free from the limiting beliefs imposed by the disorder. Encountering others with similar struggles reinforces the profound impact of societal expectations on living fully. Real life does not need to be put on hold when one embraces recovery.
While recovering from an eating disorder, I realized that I had been punishing my body with diets, believing I had to earn joy and adventure first.
Recovery was a non-linear journey filled with backslides, but it taught me that I didn't have to live in fear of unfamiliar experiences any longer.
I met women of all ages in treatment who had also been waiting to feel ready, and I saw how long someone can wait to embrace life.
The eating disorder kept me physically and mentally small, whispering that real life would begin only after I had lost the weight.'
Collection
[
|
...
]