hey…
I dont know if you remember me, but this is N 🙂 We met a couple of times at the support group… … I just returned from my trip to X … but I think I’m like relapsing. Reading your blog really inspires me to wanna recover. I was just wondering, if you could like tell me how life is on the other side (after recovery) and how you managed to. I really do want to recover.
thanks 😀
love, N.
*Names and places have been changed.
Dear N,
Of course I remember you and I’ve been wondering how you’ve been too. Thank you for writing- I’m really glad to hear from you! : )
On Relapse
I haven’t attended the support group many times myself because by the time I found it, I was almost all right. But remember once we talked about how it is possible to recover, and to recover fully? Believe in that with all your heart. I had a Relapse before too, a few times over the past year actually. I’ve had to learn that it’s perfectly normal, and nothing to beat yourself up about. The road to recovery is a winding one, and relapsing doesn’t mean getting lost- it means accidentally taking two steps back because of tripping over a stone of some sort. Sometimes, the new perspective helps you learn more about yourself, and you can move forward faster, with more strength to your stride.
Relapse doesn’t mean anything but a learning experience. We can choose to accept it and use it to learn more about ourselves, or stay discouraged and give up. You’re really brave and determined to decide for yourself to want to move forward, and you’re on the right track : )
Finding your stones
Write them down
One thing I can’t do to help is to give a sure-fire formula on how to recover, because each of us are so different. This is what makes Anorexia so difficult to treat- Each of us have such different Stories. But I can tell you one thing- that you can recover, by looking out for your own stones.
Stones are things that trip us, things that bring back bad thoughts and self-destructive behaviour. They could be anything, and I had to take time to think about what my stones were. By beautiful chance, I met a British lady, Ll, who is a marathoner, who used to suffer severely from Anorexia, and who is working on becoming a counsellor to help people suffering from this. She taught me to recollect past situations which triggered off destructive thoughts and behavior and I had to take a lot of time to write down what those things were, find out what my stones were.
They could be anything. Every one has different stones. After a lot of thinking and recollection of past experiences, I learnt that some of my triggers were lonliness, events which triggered insecurity, stress from work, eating with people who talk excessively about calories and exercise and weight, and being inundated by a storm of unhealthy societal expectations. These were my stones, things which tripped me up.
Take a baby step- Find out what your stones are. Write them down in one column, and on the second column, write down the things you can do to avoid tripping over them. In other words, look for those stones, and pick them up before they trip you.
My Stones
Insecurity and stress tripped me up real bad. My worst stone was feeling lonely as I’ve a lot of difficulty articulating my feelings especially when those feelings are anger or frustration- I’ve been brought up in an environment where those feelings are labelled to be “bad”. Realising what my stones were helped me to think of ways to cope whenever I bumped into them.
For me, picking up stones meant making sure I made an effort to eat with normal, healthy people who made me feel at ease; it meant journalling my thoughts and talking to God whenever I had strong feelings about something, instead of running away from problems by literally going for a run; it meant me making a conscious effort to say how I felt; it meant me avoiding trashy fashion magazines featuring anorexic people.
It meant me spending time for myself and with God, and not just being busy trying to please everybody else. It meant me avoiding situations that I knew would trip me up.
It meant taking time to find out what I could do to pick up those stones before they tripped me.
You can too. Find out what your stones are, and where they lie. So the next time you see them, you can pick them up, and walk forward- well.
As you get better, your trip-ups get fewer and further between, and that’s when you know you’re on your way to being completely Well.
Asking WHY
This was the most challenging part for me.
Once you’ve figured out what your stones are, and what you can do to pick them up, here comes the real challenge. I had to find out WHY those stones tripped me in the first place. Why does eating with people who obsess about fashion and weight and exercise trigger a self-restricting response? Why do I feel insecure? Do I need to feel insecure?
This takes a lot of time because it goes so deep, runs so far back. It can be very frustrating and challenging. You may even need some help from someone professional to help you through this. I was already seeing a counsellor then because of my journey with depression, and it dug out many ill beliefs and damages which I had absorbed unconsciously as a child. I learnt so much and gained a lot of self-awareness through this process.
Remember to be faithful in writing down your stones using your two columns, and to ask yourself WHY.
Pressing in
There will be times you feel like throwing in the towel, and times where you feel like bursting out in tears because nobody seems to understand. People around you can say and do things that hamper your recovery, and this can be extremely exasperating, I know.
Hold on to one thing- that no matter what people say or do, no one can take away your decision to get better. No one.
Getting Support
I had a friend who would force me to eat whenever he was with me, and I found it extremely stressful. Many times I felt like bursting into tears, tell him he didn’t understand, or ask him to leave me alone. But he was a good friend, like a big brother, and I wanted to get better. So I explained my illness to him, let him read a book on how to help me and asked him to support me by giving me time and space to recover.
It’s not too much to ask- they want to help, too. If it helps, you can take the iniative to tell your close friends how they can support you in your recovery. Instead of just getting mad, or crying, you can choose to press in, and make your recovery work.
Rationalise
Growing up in a family where members count calories, make fun of larger people and give one another second looks when you take an extra spoonful of rice was difficult for me. Many times I felt like exploding. But instead of getting mad, or crying, I chose to press in, rationalise in my head that they don’t know how to help, rationalise that I can make a choice to nourish my body, rationalise that what they are saying hurts me but I can press in and be determined to eat well, be well.
There are always 2 voices in your head- the healthy one, and the unhealthy one. Whenever you feel like going back to old ways, let the 2 voices thrash it out with each other until the good side wins. Rationalise things in your head. MAKE SURE THE GOOD SIDE WINS.
Desperation
Desperation is a good thing during recovery. It keeps you determined. Be desperate for recovery- write your reasons for doing so down and keep them as reminders.
For a long time, I kept my scale, even during recovery. But this incident broke me down completely, and made me desperate enough to want to be Well, not just partially, mostly but COMPLETELY Well. I was completely set free only after I threw it away.
Be desperate for recovery, and throw it away.
Most of this world does not understand Anorexia. When they don’t, and say or do things which hurt us more than help us, we need to press in. Press in, in desperation, and make our recovery work for us.
My White Place
Church and God helped me a lot. They are the reason why I recovered so quickly.
There is a principle in the bible which helped me a lot- that is, the principle of “dying to yourself so you can live”. It’s really about putting to death our destructive worldly, human desires so that we can live victoriously. I applied it to recovery. Every time I felt the desire to return to the old ways, I would pray, put those thoughts to death, and do the complete opposite- if didn’t feel like eating for example, I would pray, then be determined to finish a meal.
This can be very difficult. But there is something powerful in believing in God with all your heart because He has the power to unchain shackles, transform lives, set captive people free.
I do believe there is a time and place for professional counselling, medication and taking steps to recover. But at the end of the day, I believe all these methods are human constructs- there is something powerful about believing in the power of God that can break down strongholds and set you completely free, in a way even the best self-help book can’t. Not everyone will agree with me on this and that’s all right. This is my personal opinion from my experience.
There was a lot of crying. A lot of crying. But God heals- I know He did for me.
Life on the Other Side
Green Hills and Blue Skies
It is completely different here. Here, I am free.
Anorexia is tiring. It tires you mentally, physically and emotionally. For me, it was also a symptom of depression. Getting Well meant being set free from obsessive thoughts, having a healthier body, and learning how to get in touch with my feelings.
I feel better physically. Being Well means feeling more energetic, having a better memory to study well and looking much, much better. You’ll be surprised, but being well gives you a glow Anorexia will never be able to give you. Being Well is what truly makes you beautiful.
I feel better emotionally and mentally. The process of Getting Well taught me so much, and likewise, you, too, will become stronger, more compassionate and more sensitive to other people through this process.
Life on the other side is victorious, and Free. You finally see how much more there is to life- people to meet, places to go, meaningful things to do. What do you want to be when you grow up? Remember, you can be good at what you do, but only without Anorexia.
On the ground
I’ll be honest with you. There are still things I struggle with, like learning how to say I’m angry. A lot of times I don’t, and it takes me a few hours, or days to admit to both myself and someone else that I’m angry and that it’s a valid feeling. These are things we can continually work on, and which make us better people.
The Person Inside
Recovering is a beautiful process. It helps you to find out who you really are inside.
Anorexia takes the real YOU away. It numbed my feelings, set rigid rules, and took away my freedom. Reovering meant having the courage to unpeel the many layers I had chosen to hide under, unzipping the costume I was wearing because I felt so insecure. Recovering meant being a child again, exploring what foods I actually do like to eat, and to have them without anxiety. Recovering meant being open and honest with myself and finding the person inside.
Who is the real you? Be excited to find out : )
You’ll be completely Well, N. You know, not many people would come this far to seek help regarding Relapse- You’re very brave and determined : )
You’ll be completely Well. Believe in it with all your heart.
God loves you very much dear.
Love,
Wai Jia
