Jane, you have done it again! Written a piece that is so profound and honest and sad that you mostly stun us to silence. I want to do two things - give you a ginormous hug, and take you to task. The hug will have to wait so it is on to tasktaking (is that a word?)!
It is difficult to take you to task of course - you are so freaking smart that you have heard it all before and thought it all through, and coming up with a fresh angle is verging on impossible. I am going to try though! You must be aware how many of us out there love you to bits and think you are the most amazing human being. And - Big Reveal - this is not because of your amazing body (it's pretty cool, by the way, but not the first, or second, or possibly even third, thing that comes to mind when we reflect on how wonderful Jane is). Now, are you telling us, we're all wrong? And do you think if you added a few grams here and there, we would care? Or even notice?
An aside which may or may not be relevant. After years of being plagued (in my mind) with a stammer, the discovery that most people noticed it far less than I did had a more curative impact than endless hours of S&L therapy.
So, listen to Julie and treat yourself with the loving kindness you strew so generously on other people.
Thank you for sharing this vivid view into the realities of living with disordered eating. You've created a window into the life experience that is true for you and for so many others. As always, your writing fuels empathy and sparks a desire to learn and understand more deeply. And that is a gift to the world. And in a relentlessly optimistic effort to create some overlap in your Venn Diagram, I will tell you what you know: I love you for every single bit of who you are; and I know you are beautiful - inside and out, and outside and in.❤️
Awww. I am so sorry to hear that you have such a tough narrative going in your head all the time. I had a brief time of being bulimic (the whole process was SO disgusting) when I lived with my loving, but deeply messed up & sometimes emotionally abusive aunt during high school -- so I could go to a fancy private school near her. For me, it was about having control over a tiny part of life when I was in a situation where I was so powerless. Hugs and a prayer that you can learn to treat yourself with the same loving kindness you exhibit to others in abundance.
Jane, you have done it again! Written a piece that is so profound and honest and sad that you mostly stun us to silence. I want to do two things - give you a ginormous hug, and take you to task. The hug will have to wait so it is on to tasktaking (is that a word?)!
It is difficult to take you to task of course - you are so freaking smart that you have heard it all before and thought it all through, and coming up with a fresh angle is verging on impossible. I am going to try though! You must be aware how many of us out there love you to bits and think you are the most amazing human being. And - Big Reveal - this is not because of your amazing body (it's pretty cool, by the way, but not the first, or second, or possibly even third, thing that comes to mind when we reflect on how wonderful Jane is). Now, are you telling us, we're all wrong? And do you think if you added a few grams here and there, we would care? Or even notice?
An aside which may or may not be relevant. After years of being plagued (in my mind) with a stammer, the discovery that most people noticed it far less than I did had a more curative impact than endless hours of S&L therapy.
So, listen to Julie and treat yourself with the loving kindness you strew so generously on other people.
Thank you for sharing this vivid view into the realities of living with disordered eating. You've created a window into the life experience that is true for you and for so many others. As always, your writing fuels empathy and sparks a desire to learn and understand more deeply. And that is a gift to the world. And in a relentlessly optimistic effort to create some overlap in your Venn Diagram, I will tell you what you know: I love you for every single bit of who you are; and I know you are beautiful - inside and out, and outside and in.❤️
Awww. I am so sorry to hear that you have such a tough narrative going in your head all the time. I had a brief time of being bulimic (the whole process was SO disgusting) when I lived with my loving, but deeply messed up & sometimes emotionally abusive aunt during high school -- so I could go to a fancy private school near her. For me, it was about having control over a tiny part of life when I was in a situation where I was so powerless. Hugs and a prayer that you can learn to treat yourself with the same loving kindness you exhibit to others in abundance.