tw - eating disorders

as someone whose struggled with an eating disorder, you are never “not sick enough” to look for help.

* before i begin, not all eating disorders are centered around changing the way you look! eating disorders do not fit into clean and concise textbook definition. this thread is targeting people who are struggling with the same ED type that i did. *

it’s so hard for people struggling with ED’s to seek professional help because there’s a fear that we don’t look sick enough.

there’s a voice in our head saying that if we were really struggling, we’d look or act a certain way. that it’d be shameful to claim we have an ED when we’re “not even close” to our goal.

but an eating disorder is not a body type.

you absolutely do not have to look a certain way to admit that you’re struggling. i’ve been in in-patients with people of all different shapes and sizes, all battling the same thing.

your body does not invalidate your struggle.

if you’re thinking about seeking help but your mind is telling you to just push a little further so that you can really claim what you’re feeling, i’m here to tell you that you are sick and you do need help.

please be kind to yourself. you wouldn’t be stuck in this constant loop of rewards and punishments if you had the choice.

reaching out to people who have gone to school specifically because they want to help you and your struggle will change your life. you CAN and WILL learn to love yourself.

it will be quiet. it will be controlled. you will be able to say no to your disorder.

these are things i wish i’d heard when i was at my lowest rather than that recycled ass “it’s an unattainable goal.” it is, but our minds are convinced that we’re different. we can be special, we can attain it, and what will they say then? it’s hard to see the lie in all of that