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Blogging about anorexia
Posted Wednesday 28 September 2011
This is a guest blog from Carrie, who is running the Royal Parks Half Marathon for us next week in London.
Mind is a charity close to my heart because it helps people who like me, have struggled with a mental health problem. Being diagnosed with anorexia nervosa at age eleven was the most traumatic experience of my life.
I was scared, shocked, confused and frustrated. It was like someone had taken my little snow-globe life and shaken it all up. My whole life was turned upside down.
With only a week left before the doctors said I would die, I was forced into a treatment centre. I was in a huge state of denial throughout my whole recovery. I eventually gained the weight back and was deemed "recovered", but I was not even close.
Disordered thoughts filled my head for five more years. Five years of restricting, losing, gaining, bingeing and purging. During those years, I relapsed and was taken into a different treatment centre. This time was different. I was mature and ready to change; I wanted freedom and I wanted happiness. I fought hard and I regained my health, independence, freedom and life.
My eating disorder has given me more than I could ever imagine. Yes, I am recovered and coping, but that’s not where it ends. I am also a much stronger, more powerful and more motivated person than I ever would have been without it. I know I can help others, and they me, by sharing what I have been through and how I managed to cope, so I blog about my past, my life and how I’ve recovered. It’s a place where we can safely address issues about body image or eating disorders. Some of the supportive comments I've received include:
Thanks for opening up and sharing, I can relate so much to your struggles. So glad you are in a healthy, happy place in your life.
I am so proud of you and your honesty. I think it’s important to point out that eating disorders are incredibly difficult and that they require hard work, support in some form, patience and a healthy outlook.
I’m sure you have no idea of just how many women you inspire – thanks for sharing your experience and for being the shining light that you are.
Running this half marathon for Mind is not only an opportunity to help other people like me, who are struggling, but to prove to myself and others that you can recover and you can get your mind and body to a healthy place again.
I never thought my body would be able to run in this race after all that it has been through, but here I am strong, healthy and ready to do it. While at the time it seemed I had lost everything to my eating disorder, in reality I gained my health, happiness and life back.
Carrie
http://movesnmunchies.wordpress.com
Could you cheer on October 9? We need people to cheer our 500 runners between 9am and 12pm along way email Rachael for more information.
8 Comments
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Carrie is an amazing person and is beautiful inside and out! I'm glad she is doing soo much better now and that she's opening up about her ED past to help others!
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Great post, Carrie! Thank you for sharing your story with everyone. You have such a powerful message to share with the world! I'm glad you're willing to open up about it!
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awesome post carrie!!
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Wishing you all the best Carrie. It is so helpful when people share these things so good on you. Wishing you every success.
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how can i e mail carrie I would love to chat to her and share my own experiences suffering and coping with this cruel desease.
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Hi Julia,
Have you seen Carrie's own blog? There's a link to it at the bottom of the article. On there there is a 'contact' tab where you will be able to get in touch with Carrie.
Best wishes,
Richard from Mind -
Hi Julia!!
I would love to get in touch with you! Mind will send on my email.
xxx
Carrie -
Hi Carrie,
Thanks for a lovely post and for sharing your story.
I think a key aspect of healing is being prepared to acknowledge the difficulties we're facing, first to ourselves, then when the time is right to others.Brene Brown would talk of this being the willingness to show vulnerability. She talks about it in a lovely video where she explores her research into why some people seem to be more able to form meaningful relationships. You can see the video here -> http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html
You clearly have a lot of mental strength which I'm sure will come in handy during the marathon. :-)
Good Luck
Phil
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