I am excited and delighted to introduce my first guest blogger, Margarita Tartakovsky of Weightless, a blog on PsychCentral.com, which focuses on body image, disordered eating, and eating disorders. From her Q&A interviews on through to her positive Body Image bolstering articles, her posts are informative, interesting, and very inspiring. If you haven't had the opportunity yet to visit there, I suggest you run on over and check it out. I promise you, you'll be glad that you did.
Inspiring Words on Seeking Eating Disorder Recovery
By: Margarita Tartakovsky MS
Seeking help when you’re struggling with an eating disorder might seem out of the question. Maybe you think no one can help. Maybe you see your disorder as a friend or your identity. But you are not your eating disorder. An eating disorder is a serious illness.
At Weightless, I regularly feature interviews with women who’ve recovered from eating disorders. One of the questions I ask is what motivated them to seek treatment. Today, I’d like to share with you a few of these answers.
If the idea of getting treatment for your eating disorder scares you or you’re afraid of taking the next step toward recovery, I hope the words below inspire you to talk to someone and find professional treatment. Even if you’ve already seen several therapists or been in treatment a few times, that doesn’t mean you can’t recover. Maybe your therapist didn’t specialize in eating disorders or maybe the two of you just didn’t click. None of these are reasons to give up. You may have to see several practitioners before finding the right one, but with some persistence, hard work and a desire to recover, you will find the right one. All you have to do is begin.
From Andrea Roe:
I wanted to get rid of my eating disorder and tried numerous times to recover by myself but it never worked. Even though I had read that recovery does exist, I didn’t really believe it was possible for me.
My turning point was when I met my husband. He believed in me no matter what. His love and support were what I needed to find the strength in me to reach out and do what it takes to beat this disorder. He was always there for me and never judged me. With his help and support, I felt for the first time that recovery was possible, even for me.
I could not have recovered without the help and support from others. I was close to giving up the fight many times, but my support team was there for me and believed in me, no matter what. And whenever I fell, they helped me get back up again to continue on with my recovery and healing journey. And they also celebrated my successes with me and reminded me of my successes when I was only concentrating on my failures and what was wrong with me. If it wasn’t for my support team, I would not be where I am today.
From Kate Le Page:
The first time I sought treatment I had been at school for several months with … [mono] … and had become so weak as a result that I was barely able to get out of bed. I was really frightened that my anorexia was making the virus harder to fight and decided to see my family doctor. Unfortunately, all he did was begin to weigh me every month and put me on various anti-depressants. This negative experience really put me off seeking further treatment.
By 1998, in my first year at university, my friends had begun to spot that something wasn’t right with my eating habits and they confronted me about it. My attendance was already beginning to suffer as I often felt so weak and exhausted that I would skip lectures. I had really gotten to a point where I knew the anorexia was preventing me from achieving my goal of getting a good degree.
From Kate Thieda:
A former teacher of mine who had been a mentor and second mother to me for over ten years confronted me during a visit to see her when I was twenty-eight. By this time, I had struggled with disordered eating for over eight years, and was virtually paralyzed when it came to making appropriate, healthy food choices. This was not the first time she had pushed me to reconsider my behavior, but I finally acknowledged that she was right and I needed help.
From Michelle Myers:
After a near-death experience (you can read my story on my blog here), I decided enough was enough. Though the thought of dying had intrigued me for a while, once I was almost there, I realized I desperately wanted to live – and REALLY live.
For the past four years of my life, I had merely existed. Avoiding food, pushing people away in my life, spending all of my time alone on the treadmill was no way to spend my time here on earth. I lost four years of my life, and my motivation to get better was my determination not to lose any more time.
Remember that while you didn’t choose to have any eating disorder, you can choose to get help and you can choose to fight. I hope you will.
Read why Margarita Tartakovsky blogs about these issues: Eating Disorders and Body Image Advocates & Why They Blog.
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