EATING DISORDER RECOVERY ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE "PRETTY"

Eating disorder recovery isn’t supposed to be “pretty.” It’s messy, chaotic and gets worse before it gets better.
Social media and movies like “To the Bone” can make eating disorder recovery seem sexy, glamorous and pretty. That’s a lie and it’s making it a lot harder for girls and guys who are currently going through recovery. Recovery is uncomfortable, it’s mentally and physically difficult, and it’s not easy. In this video I’m sharing video clips that I took to document my journey through recovery. I’m nervous about sharing them but I think it’s important for us to share times when we are struggling, when we do not feel confident or strong, when we are learning, growing and making mistakes. On social media it’s so easy to share the highlight reel of our lives and gloss over the struggles, and then by going on social media we think that we’re the only ones struggling, when that’s not true.

In this video I also talk about how important it is to get outside your comfort zone in recovery. This was something that was personally important for me to do because as an introvert it is very easy and comfortable for me to stay at home and hide from the world. ESPECIALLY during my eating disorder when my confidence was at an all time low and I was feeling terrible. I wanted nothing more than to just hide in my bed and not face the world but doing that was NOT going to help me build my confidence back, but rather it would only allow my eating disorder thoughts to creep back in, and it would be detrimental to my recovery. This is why I put such an emphasis on “getting outside your comfort zone” in this video. BUT I forgot to mention that getting outside your comfort zone ALSO means eating foods that you are afraid to eat, NOT exercising when you have the urge to do so, not purging after you binge, etc. I talk about the importance of going out and socializing during recovery and not hiding away, but I did not mention that it is ALSO very important to take time for yourself and rest. I dropped out of a semester at University when I was recovering and quit a job that was not a good environment for my recovery. So while I say in the video that it’s important to socialize, build back your confidence, and do things outside of your comfort zone, it’s also so important to give yourself a break and not feel like you should be productive or busy all the time.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments! Hope you enjoy Xx