It’s hard to make people who have never experienced an eating disorder understand that these types of mental illnesses have little to do with eating. Sure, food and appearance are emphasized, but they aren’t the core of the problem.
So many folks (including some of my family members) simply assume that if those with eating disorders just “got a handle” on their eating habits all would be fine and dandy. But that’s not how it works.
For example, I do not withhold nourishment from my body anymore. I do not starve myself. Yet I can never totally allow myself to feel 100% …read more

Under the auspices of “turning lemons into lemonade”, I have decided to give some thought about why I should be thankful (yes, that’s right) that I had (have) an eating disorder.
In no particular order, I’ve come up with the following five reasons to give thanks.  Please know that I’m not suggesting that eating disorders are somehow “okay”, but when you have one in your history, you either have to embrace your past and learn from it or… well… you know the rest.
Five Reasons I’m Thankful I Had/Have an Eating Disorder:
1.  My ED has made me more aware of the way …read more