an interesting discovery

hey DS!
i found out something very eye-opening recently. a couple weeks ago, our power went out. my power chair was nearly dead, and my dad had to go in the basement to get my manuel chair. i tranferred, and dad said, "you've lost weight! i had to move the seatbelt. see?" and i said, "but i always feel so fat in that chair!" "of course you do! you've had it since you were 12! i don't try to fit into ten year old jeans. it's ridiculous to expect someone to fit into the same wheelchair for 10 years. plus, that chair has latteral and unilatteral supports,(foam support to keep me from leaning and to keep my legs bent) and they tend to squish you and create extra bulges."
my dad really put things in perspective for me. i suddenly saw the grand canyon-sized gap between how i see myself and how i actually am. generally, i had a much more positive self-image while i was in the other chair. i couldn't do as much for myself because i had to push the chair so that was irritating. but it was nice to have that experience. i remember seeing a video on ED's in health where a woman who worked at a treatment center taked about bridging that gap. she put construction paper on a wall.handed patients sharpies, and said, "show me how you see yourself."most of the girls (all of whom had anorexia. sadly, the class only focused on anorexia and bulemia in the ED unit.) drew outlines of seriously obese versions of themselves. the woman then took all the sharpies and had all the girls stand against the wall as she drew actual outlines of all of them.
i'm not at all downplaying my weight. i do need to lose weight, but i just wanted to share that things aren't what they seem.-fallon