These truths are so important to the healing process that we even made them into a beautiful 2016 calendar that serves as a powerful reminder throughout the year as to what you are fighting for (recovery) and against (your eating disorder).
Subscribe to The Recovery Warrior Show on iTunes or Stitcher
Show your support on Patreon #warriorsunite
1. You got this
Commitment is key to recovery and it’s important to encourage yourself to stick with it no matter what obstacles get put in front of you. No matter what you’re working towards, no matter what your struggle or goal is. You got this! You may not feel it in the beginning, but your perseverance will pay off in the end.
2. Love the life you live, live the life you love
In a society that places a tremendous amount of value on image and material possessions it can be easy to lose sight of yourself and get lost in the impressions, expectations and judgements of others and your eating disorder. Part of the process of self-discovery involves tuning into the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) whispers of your heart and letting them lead you to an authentic life that you love.
3. Believe in the Possibility
Einstein once said, “it is better to believe than to disbelieve, in doing you bring everything to the realm of possibility.” Recovery is within the realm of possibility, but it takes an open mindset to believe that you can have it. You must believe it to achieve it!
4. I Am What I Choose To Become
No matter what your past is you can still create your future. This comes from your day to day actions, thoughts, intentions and beliefs, which can all be changed. A major part of recovery is dissociating from your eating disorder identity and cultivating a new one. You aren’t the behaviors and thoughts that defined you in the past.
5. Just Keep Going
It doesn’t matter how fast you go, keep taking steps forward. Resist the urge to compare yourself to others or glorify the past. Acceptance and perseverance will help you get to where you want to be, eating disorder free.
6. Replace Fear of the Unknown with Curiosity
Change requires stepping outside of your comfort zone. This can be both frightful and uncomfortable. However, with curiosity you’ll be able to conquer fear even more than bravery will. Approach the unknown with a a desire to learn and you awaken your self-awareness.
I’m choosing curiosity over fear in #2016. TY @jessicahraymond for an amazing @RecovryWarriors gift & all you do! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/YqSGuHzPhp
— Laura Porter (@LCPeez) December 21, 2015
7. Healing Takes Feeling
Eating disorders often serve as a way to cope with painful feelings. You can try to stuff them down and starve them, but they do not go away. They lie hidden under the surface and the process of recovery involves letting them come to light. Healing comes from connecting to the whole range of emotions, both the positive and the negative.
8. Have Courage Dear Heart
Your eating disorder feeds off you feeling weak, powerless and defenseless. It wants to be in control. In order to break free from it’s power, you need to step outside your comfort zone and embrace life’s uncertainties. When you connect your head to your heart you tap into the courage that lies within you.
9. Trust the Process
Recovery comes with its fair share of trials and tribulations. It is important to have faith and trust that everything is going to work out. Do not force the process. Let it naturally unfold without trying to force or control the outcome.
10. Everything Happens For a Reason
As author Anais Nin once said, “you have to live out the confusions until they become clear”. What you are going through now and what you have dealt with in your past all add up to who you will be in the future; a person who is much more in tune to who they are, what they want and where they are going in life. Everything happens for a reason.
11. Every Little Thing is Going to Be Alright
You’ll get much further in your recovery if you can learn to boost yourself up, not beat yourself up. This gentle reminder that everything is going to be alright can be especially important to take to heart during tough times.
12. Let it Go
Stop chasing perfection. It won’t lead you to health, happiness and success. It will only lead you further into an eating disorder. Let the perfect ideal go. Let the limiting beliefs go. Let the identity you have built around your eating disorder go. When you do, you’ll have much more room to let love and acceptance in.
For Your Journey
- Rise Up + Recover app on Google Play and iTunes
- Music Credit: “Something to Live For” by Mallory Faye
