I don't like the word "recovery". (Part 1/2)

[daniellehurley2001]

"You don't have to be thin to be pretty."

Amen!!

[justagurl23]

it is what it is. 'recovery' isn't even a feeling or a thought. it's more the intention of wanting to live healthier and working on the behaviors. day by day.

[Shanizzle07]

other opinions don't matter. your opinion matters, your perception matters and your reality matters. find what truly makes you happy and go for it. thats the best advice I can give you. when you are able to make yourself happier the other problems will begin to resolve. eating disorders are oftentimes derived from mental health issues such as depression. I hope what i say is helpful.

[jennfriedman]

I've always thought that recovery meant acknowledging the negative - its definitely not about being positive all the time. That's the e.d. mentality - unrealistic expectations, perfection, idealization. "I know that if I accept the bad and if I feel the bad things, that if I wait it out, then the positive will come." Exactly! That is how I define recovery. Whether or not you prefer to use the word, just know that people who consider themselves in recovery think the way you're thinking right now.

[shrinerspark]

@jennfriedman I guess the problem for me was that when I felt bad, I acted on feeling bad by using symptoms, ED and otherwise... so I felt like I couldn't feel bad, because if I did I WOULD have symptoms, and I was "supposed" to not have symptoms. Ugh.

[jennfriedman]

@shrinerspark Ahhhh I gotcha. Well, now you have the opportunity to live a whole new life that involves being allowed to feel bad and not act on it. You're free to do that now!