MinnesotanMommy's Journal

A portion of a WONDERFUL book about recovering from an eating disorder that REALLY spoke to me about how I TRULY feel about people understanding me. The author put it into words for me, and it conveyed what I really feel on the subject!

For those that do not what what "Ed" means, it stands for eating disorder. The author refers to the eating disorder as "Ed".

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"I have heard it said about some things that "From the outside looking in, you can't understand it. From the inside looking out, you can't explain it." This is a wonderful description of an eating disorder. People who do not have an eating disorder cannot possibly understand it. They are not expected to any more then those of us with eating disorders are able to explain it. In my recovery, my parents were able to truly provide support only when we all accepted that they would never understand what Ed drives me to think and do. They often say, "I don't understand, but I support you." People don't have to understand us. We just need them to believe us. If I tell my mom that I "feel fat," I do not need her to convince me that I am not fat. Instead, I just need her to believe that I really do feel fat. She does not understand what that feels like, but she believes me. That's what I need." 

-Taken from:

Life Without Ed

by

Jenni Schaefer with Thom Rutledge

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This book is a FANTASTIC read if you struggle with an ED or if you want to understand an ED that someone you know and love is suffering from an ED. I intend on buying it in September from my treatment facility. I want to be able to highlight points from this book and write in it, and as it is, I'm borrowing a friend's copy. I am getting so much from this book. It just hooked me as soon as I read the intro before the book really took off! Such a good read! Consider reading it!

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I will do a full update tonight, if I wake up as usual (insomnia took me for a LONG go here), otherwise sometime tomorrow I'll get in the update about the trip to the cities where we went to a water park in a hotel and then to Como Zoo in the pouring rain!