I Believe It ’ s Possible to Fully Recover from an Eating Disorder

When I first started struggling with food and body image at eight years old, I was convinced it would be a lifelong struggle. My days were spent getting on and off a scale more times than anyone could imagine and counting out my cornflakes before I’d even think of eating them. I felt that I was destined to be bound by my eating disorder forever. However, at 22 years old, I am fully recovered from anorexia. There is some controversy in the mental health world about whether full recovery from an eating disorder is possible, and I wholeheartedly believe it is (in fact, I’m living proof). Eating disorder expert Carolyn Costin says, Being recovered to me is when the person can accept his or her natural body size and shape and no longer has a self-destructive or unnatural relationship with food or exercise. When you are recovered, food and weight take a proper perspective in your life and what you weigh is not more important than who you are; in fact, actual numbers are of little or no importance at all. When recovered, you will not compromise your health or betray your soul to look a certain way, wear a certain size or reach a certain number on a scale. When recovered, you do not use eating disorder behaviors to deal with, distract from, or cope with other problems. My eating disorder truly is a thing of the past. While I still struggle with major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and PTSD, and my battle with anorexia has certainly informed the woman I’ve be...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Anorexia Binge Eating Disorders Eating Disorders Mental Health America Publishers Body Image recover from eating disorder Source Type: blogs