Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2020: Hope

"Which is why when we are fighting to create change, it is so important to be kind to ourselves, to look at the next step before us if the whole picture is too overwhelming to face, to acknowledge the heaviness of this work, and to always come back to hope and the things that nourish it for us. Because change is possible, and recovery is possible. Because human beings are resilient, tenacious, and capable. Because there is always hope, whether it is a thing with feathers, a single step forward, or a buried seed deep within the soil."

Feel It All.

"As I have worked through recovery, the key to using my feelings as a tool has been to respond to them with curiosity instead of shame. When a situation prompts a strong emotional reaction, the first thing I do is acknowledge that I am having an emotional experience and that this is okay."

Recovery and The Holiday Season

"YOU get to decide who you are and what is important to you, and I encourage you to look for ways to build traditions that feel significant for you. Maybe you need to go to the social gatherings or holiday parties that are challenging because they are important to your loved ones, but maybe you can also celebrate this time of year in a way that brings you joy and honours what you truly need."

Navigating The Holidays

"Navigating triggers such as diet talk, social events or social isolation, and having to engage with different situations around food, can bring up a lot of difficult feelings. However, the holiday season can also bring with it the opportunity to challenge ourselves, create new memories, and engage with new experiences. Doing so is certainly not always easy, but there are ways in which we can protect our recovery when we find ourselves caught up in moments that put us to the test."

Imagining Others (and Ourselves) Complexly

"Recovery then, asks us to imagine ourselves outside of our struggles and to begin building an identity that is broader than our eating disorder. It is an enormous, but critical task in recovery and life in general. None of us are single stories or solely defined by one aspect of our being. It does not matter how small your life may feel at the moment, each one of us is still far more than a single, or simple, story."

Reflections From A Looking Glass Volunteer

"The welcoming and kind energy the Looking Glass fosters as an organization is the type of essence I hope to bring as a future counsellor. The team at the Foundation is warm and passionate, and I believe this is how they genuinely help those in the eating disorder community to recover."

You Are Enough, A Thousand Times Enough.

"This poem encapsulates the Hand in Hand relationship, based on my experience. It is a partnership, collaborative relationship. In the pairing, I am the sounding board, confidant, and mirror for my matches. I infuse optimism and curiosity. I accept them for exactly who they are, as they show up. I strive to help them rediscover their truth, so that they can live an authentic life and connect deeper to their values. I encourage my matches to embody their freedom and feel that recovery is possible."

Reflections on Receiving a Looking Glass Foundation Scholarship

We sat down with a long-time Looking Glass volunteer, Sherene Balanji, who will be graduating next year from Simon Fraser University with an Honours degree in Psychology. She is currently working on completing her Honours Thesis exploring the relationship between social media behaviours and disordered eating in undergraduate students. She has been volunteering with Looking Glass in the Hand in Hand program for 3 years, and as a Forum Support volunteer since 2018. Today, she reflects back on the experience of receiving a 2017 Scholarship award from the Looking Glass Foundation.