Three Things You Can Do Today

Those seeking recovery from an eating disorder, or those in recovery often talk about what they find difficult, what they feel they cannot do or are not ready to do, or what they'd like to but aren't able to do because of some kind of circumstance.

Well, here are 3 things you CAN do today - FOR SURE - so don't make excuses. Just do them. Sure, they are small steps, but they are steps. I'd like to do a post like this from time to time, with 3 things you CAN do right away. Right now.

Is this stuff earth-shattering? No. Is it good? Yes.

Three things you CAN do today:

- program your cell phone to tell you a nice message tomorrow at 10 AM (if you'll be sleeping, in a meeting, with a client, etc. at that time, it's no matter - the next time you look at your phone, that message will be waiting)

-look at yourself in the mirror and say, "I'll try to take care of you." This may sound a little cheesy, but when was the last time you told yourself that? And I'm not asking you to say, "I love myself" or "I'm beautiful" - think about it. You ARE ABLE to do this.

- find a positive post, quote, poem, etc. Print it, fold it, and put it in your wallet.

Do it now! There's no reason you can't.

I'm Your Voice of Reason :)

I was thinking a lot last night - about a particular friend, about the world in which we live, and obviously, about eating disorders. I had responded to this friend's post and the more I wrote, the more I realized that the way she is currently feeling is the way a lot of people are currently feeling. There was so much I wanted to tell her and there is so much I want to tell you. So I propped up my webcam and made a quick video. It's below. As usual, click to view on YouTube as embedding has been disabled.

Love to all.

Letter to All

There are times when I feel there is so much I have to say and there’s just not enough time in the day to say it all. There are times when I feel no words can adequately express what is my heart. There are times when I remember the life I used to lead and am overcome with the deepest of desires to help. To reach out. To give back. To support. To explain. To send love.

You are out there. And we’ve never met, but I truly think about you often in my daily life. When I am at the grocery store, I wonder about you. When I am in my kitchen, preparing dinner, I wonder about you. When I am going to sleep at night, I wonder about you. When I am looking in the mirror, I wonder about you. You are very important to me.

I am not here to rescue or to save, but I do hope that I can help even in the smallest of ways. I have to admit that I feel a strong sense of duty (no, that’s not exactly the right word…maybe a calling is better) to share and help and support. I don’t mean this in an arrogant, self-righteous kind of way. I just mean that I can say with complete honesty that I have come a long way and I know I can give a sense of understanding and a positive outlook. Clearly, I am not perfect and I will never pretend to be. I do hope, however, that by telling you I was once in a terrible, low, unhealthy place and am now free and happy, I can give something. Something. Whatever that “something” may be.

In a strange way, I feel as though I went through my eating disorder partly for a reason: so that I could help others. So I could mold that experience into something new and positive. So I could bend it into something else that I could be proud of. I can’t seem to shake this concept. It always feels true. I came out of my whole horrid nightmare with a pure clarity—a really good understanding of what I had experienced and had struggled with and had overcome.

It is very fulfilling for me to give even the tiniest glimmer of hope to others that there is life after an eating disorder. It is very meaningful for me to be able to read all your wonderful, strong, and spirited responses and emails.

I think you are all incredible and fantastically beautiful. I just wanted you to know.

All my love,
Arielle