Before I get into this post, I want to address just how devastating the news out of Indonesia is. The footage of homes washing away and mothers weeping over photos of their missing children have been on my mind all week, and I keep wishing that I could rewind time and undo all the horror. The only comfort I've found is in the words of Mr. Rogers:
"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'"
When airplanes were trying to land during the tsunami, a 21 year-old air traffic controller stayed at work long enough to make sure that they landed safely and then lost his life as the waves crashed into and destroyed the control tower. And throughout the rest of Indonesia, everyday heroes are saving family members, neighbors, and strangers in the wake of unconscionable tragedy. These are the helpers Mr. Rogers was talking about. They're the ones who are here to remind us that there is still good in the world and that we have absolutely no excuse not to contribute to it.
Compassion is consideration and sympathy for pain and suffering, and it is free of judgement, hate, and criticism. It's the antithesis of an eating disorder because it emphasizes love an attunement, not disconnect and hate.
A friend dealing working on through own recovery process recently shared that her "teen-hood" will be ending soon and that she spent the majority of it with disordered eating behaviors.
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| From Quotesgram |
A friend dealing working on through own recovery process recently shared that her "teen-hood" will be ending soon and that she spent the majority of it with disordered eating behaviors.
"Disordered thoughts weren't on my mind all the time, and I'm grateful to have had the adolescence I did. But, admittedly, every year was marked by some sort of disordered eating issue. Restriction, fear, overexercise . . . ."
That part about the thoughts not being on her mind "all the time" is significant to me because, for many people recovering from eating disorders, it can be easy to forget that the disordered mindset is abnormal and needs constant work. Obviously, it's good if you've found things in life to focus on that aren't body-related, but if you're happy or distracted until some food fear triggers you, then you've got more work to do and can't afford to stagnate in quasi-recovery. The tricky thing is that you actually have to work on recovering. Ugh, work, I know. Why can't we just decide one day to be recovered and then move on? Why do we have to consciously face change and uncertainty? Why can't it be easy?!
Every meal plan increase, exercise cut, or unplanned meal brings a chaotic cascade of discomfort, but that discomfort is just a reminder that the eating disorder isn't totally defeated yet. It may take a long time to go away completely, but until then our job is to be stronger than it is, even if that means consciously, actively choosing to combat it every day. Just remember to focus on compassion, Mr. Rogers, and the fact that recovery is an active process.
Recovery is an opportunity to be your own hero, and then from there, you can be a hero for others, too.
<3
Every meal plan increase, exercise cut, or unplanned meal brings a chaotic cascade of discomfort, but that discomfort is just a reminder that the eating disorder isn't totally defeated yet. It may take a long time to go away completely, but until then our job is to be stronger than it is, even if that means consciously, actively choosing to combat it every day. Just remember to focus on compassion, Mr. Rogers, and the fact that recovery is an active process.
Recovery is an opportunity to be your own hero, and then from there, you can be a hero for others, too.
<3
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