Welcome to the blog space of the Looking Glass community, where we post our own and others’ reflections and perspectives on eating disorder issues, journeys of recovery, and other helpful tips and tools.
Summer is often thought of as being synonymous with spontaneity – taking advantage of the longer days, warm weather, beach hangouts and countless BBQs. However, for those suffering with an eating disorder, allowing oneself to be spontaneous or to genuinely enjoy the summer may be contingent on an endless list of “should” and “if only” variables. Read on for some tips on how to embrace summer fully!
LGF volunteer and 2017 recipient of the Persevere Scholarship, Kendra, shares her reflections and thoughts about her academic, community and personal pursuits and achievements.
For those who have overcome a personal experience, stepping into a support role after recovering from an eating disorder can be a deeply rewarding way to channel some of the lessons and insights learned in recovery into something hopeful and constructive for someone else who is struggling to find their way to a recovered life.
Q: One of the things that seems so scary about recovery is I feel like I don’t know who I will be when I recover. When I think of that, I get so overwhelmed by all the unknowns that it feels safer to retreat into my eating disorder. How do I deal with that?
We do need to change the way we think about eating disorders, but more importantly we need to change how we actually go about fighting and eradicating this disease. So let’s break stigma, and then break barriers – barriers to accessing effective treatment, barriers around government inaction, barriers to insurance coverage..the list goes on.
In her hopeful and inspiring Mother's Day poem about recovery, guest blogger Grace Davies reminds us to relish in all of the important steps we've taken along the way, and that true recovery is possible for all of us: "There are many of us who walked the path before you and we will guide the way. / Keep going, keep dreaming and most importantly: keep living."
To be in our bodies is a beautiful feeling. Experiencing the multiple layers of ourselves using the information our bodies provide is a wonderful way to form a deeper connection to ourselves and the world around us. I truly believe health is a mind-body connection and as we feel into the ways our bodies communicate with us, we are able to make choices that honour our unique needs. This experience is called the feeling of "embodiment."
Every story of recovery is as unique as the person it belongs to ... For me, I had to experience the process of un-learning before I could really begin to understand myself. When the #metoo movement began to take hold in 2016, I began to reflect deeply on the problem of misogyny in the context of my eating disorder.
Q: I know a few people who have recovered and they keep trying to tell me how it needs to be done. I don’t want to be rude but I am tired of being told how my recovery needs to look. It is made more difficult because these people have actually been through it. How do I set boundaries in a way that doesn’t ruin the friendship?
As someone who has had an eating disorder, I know what it’s like to wake every day facing an internal battle. Throughout my recovery, I had many relapses. Early on, I would always tell myself: “this is the last time,” and I wouldn’t tell anyone what I was going through. I didn’t think anyone would understand, and I was afraid of being judged.
Looking Glass Foundation respectfully acknowledges that our work takes place on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
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