"I was told I would always have my eating disorder... "

[Andrea Roe]

Recently, I was invited to share my story with an eating disorder support group... Now that I am recovered, it is my passion to spread the word of recovery and give others hope and support.

One of the girls of the support group said that years ago her therapist told her that she would always have her eating disorder. She was told that she would never be able to get rid of it.

Now, years later, her situation has not improved -- it has actually gotten worse. Why? Because she lost hope. She has given up on herself. She keeps saying to herself, "Why bother continuing the fight when there's no hope and no chance of getting better?"

"He who does not hope to win has already lost"
- Jose Joaquin Olmedo

Hope is what keeps us going. Without hope, there is no reason to continue. There's no reason to encourage yourself to get better.


The truth is, as soon as we start believing something, it becomes real. That's helpful when the belief is positive but it can also be a major obstacle when you start believing something that doesn't help you.

In this case, this woman started to believe this lie told to her by her therapist. She started to believe that she would never get better and that's exactly what happened.

"Believe it can be done. When you believe something can be done, really believe, your mind will find the ways to do it. Believing a solution paves the way to solution."
- David Joseph Schwartz

If you are in the same situation, where someone has told you that you can't ever get better, now is the time to take action.

Start surrounding yourself with people who do honestly believe you can get better. Draw your hope from them.

As soon as you start believing you can "divorce ED" (as eating disorder survivor and author Jenni Schaefer would say), you've taken the first step to breaking through to a new life full of wonder and beauty instead of pain and sadness.

Believe in your dreams and they may come true; believe in yourself and they will come true.
-- Author Unknown

You can do it if you believe you can!
-- Napoleon Hill


All the best, and keep on believing in yourself! :-)

Andrea

PS. I invite you to check out my monthly ezine called the You Are Not Alone Support Letter which is filled with recovery stories, interviews, poems, artwork, recovery tips, and more... for more information, visit www.youarenotalonebook.com/supportletter.html