Reasons to Recover
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| Thu, 08-05-2004 - 5:19pm |
One of the things i'm doing as part of my eating disorder therapy is creating index cards with lists of reasons to get better, to recover from my ED. I've filled 6 cards in the past 2 weeks and i thought some of my ideas might help others. You never know when something you say will hit another person just right. And also, i'm hoping to trigger ideas from you guys...what are/were some of your reasons for recovering? Even if you aren't recovering, can you think of anything that might be good about it? Some of my reasons are "deeper," dealing with the emotional pain of an ED. And some are more superficial, or have more to do with the physical discomfort of an ED.
anyway, here goes!
*Getting better is not as hard as living forever with an eating disorder.
*Not eating stresses relationships I care about, like my marriage and friendships.
*Very low calorie diets can result in gallstones, and I REALLY DO NOT want to pass a gallstone.
*I don't want my nephew thinking of me as his sick auntie.
*Because I CAN do it.
*Being hungry and tired and weak all the time feels terrible.
*I am not meant to be the weight of a waif.
*Not eating enough sets me up for binges, which I view as failures, and make me feel terrible.
*Eating what I like when I'm hungry is freedom.
*Not eating makes me feel desperate to try diet pills and laxatives and purging and fasting...which are all dangerous and can kill me.
*Starving myself worries my family and friends.
*I don't have to be underweight to die.
*I would never want anyone I love to have an eating disorder, so why do it to myself?
*Thinking and talking only about weight and my body makes me a very boring person to talk to.
*It's not true that I've "always" been like this.
*I've already put almost 2 months into recovering, and I'm not willing to wreck my progress and the time I've spent by going back to my old life.
*I'm good at sticking with things, so why give up on this?
*I only have a few bad days now and then when I'm eating. When I don't eat, every day I feel sick and sad and tired.
*Not eating is unpleasant.
*I need food to live.
*Not eating doesn't make me like myself any more than eating.
*Someday my body size will not make me feel so upset and anxious, if I keep trying.
*Eating dinner is normal.
*It feels so good to have no idea what I weigh.
*Not eating DIDN'T WORK.
*I want and need a healthy, working metabolism.
*Eating a meal is a healthy decision.
*When I eat, I am less afraid of most foods because I know I will be able to stop.
*Not eating makes me think and behave irrationally.
*I am fortunate to have access to so many foods, to be able to afford anything I want to eat, and that my food supply is safe and convenient.
*I am fortunate to have good health insurance that will pay most of what my therapy costs, and I really do not like wasting opportunities.
*It will feel really good when I can eat until I'm full and not feel guilty, anxious, or upset about it.

This is AWESOME. Thank you so much for posting it and sharing it with us. It definitely helps me and I hope it will help the other members of the board as well.
Love & hugs, Kristina
hemmy,
That is a great list!!!!!!!!!
I am blank for ideas right now (duh, lol) but if I think of any later I'll share them.
Keep up the great work,
Hugs, Michelle
It's not the speed, but the distance.