I don't like to take things too seriously on this here little blog, but I have a little cause I'd like to take up this week. It's a subject that's pretty near and dear to me, and I was wondering if any of you would be interested in taking it up with me.
February is National Eating Disorder Awareness Month. I know, not a very fun subject by any means, but it's something that I'm passionate about.
Why I Care
I don't believe in going into detail about these things, but I do believe--firmly believe--in being generally open about it because awareness about it is key.
I am a recovering anorexic. I have been in recovery for 5 years now, but it's still a daily struggle. At 16 I had a food tube shoved down my nose, and halfway through my freshman year of college, I dropped out and entered rehab for 6 months. I missed out on my senior year of high school, my freshman year of college, and years and years of relationships with family and friends.
Why am I telling you this? Because I'm mad. And that might be the understatement of 2011. I'm furious that there is so much talk about the obesity epidemic and not a word said about the eating disorders that are destroying so many lives.
It's not normal. It's not ok. And I refuse to let it go unnoticed.
There's not much that little old me can accomplish, but I can at least use my tiny little corner of the interwebs to speak my case. To raise awareness where I can, and maybe even take a few of you along with me in my cause.
So what is my cause? Well, I would like to dedicate this week on my blog to, well--loving your body I suppose. Before you laugh at the cheese ballness of all of this, just let me explain.
I feel as though we are all being taken siege by the media's unrealistic ideals about women. I feel even more strongly that we are letting these ideals ruin our lives by making us feel not good enough/worthy/whatever. I can't hang out with a girlfriend without hearing some cockamamie rubbish about what she ate, how gross she feels, her guilt, and what she'd like to change about herself.
Well, I'm over it. WAY over it. And I'm hoping you are, too.
So I propose to honor National Eating Disorder Awareness Month by filling my blog this week with inspiring things on the subject, stories, recipe ideas, positive body image tips, and anything else I can possibly think of to help spread awareness and start a teeny tiny mini revolution to help us all live in the moment and stop squandering our lives on total bummer thoughts.
And I promise--I'll keep it all lighthearted. You know me. I can't take many things too seriously, so I'll keep it fun.
What I Want to Ask From You
Nothing really. I'm fine being on this soapbox alone. It's a subject that's extremely important to me, so I'll do whatever I can.
BUT--if you have something you'd like to contribute to this cause, then please! Email me an idea for a blog post, and I'd love to have you as a guest blogger. It can be anything from what makes you feel good about you or your favorite styling tips to help you feel comfortable in your shape to a healthy recipe that cheers you up. I'll take any and all ideas to contribute to this little cause this week on my blog.
And even if all you want to do is comment below telling me you're over it and you're ready to start living it up with the one body you have, that's great! I'll take it.
I will say this--I am not in any way a proponent of giving details on eating disorders in any way. If you have suffered from one as well or know someone who has, I'd love to hear your story, but please spare any details that may be triggering to others or lead to people getting ideas. I want this week to be more of a call to action to live in the moment and love what you've got, so let's keep things positive. Also, no negative comments, please!
Anyway, thanks so much for listening. I really want to try and make this a positive space this month and spread the word that it's not ok for eating disorders to go on unnoticed and for us to think we're anything less than glorious, aight? Word.
Preach it sista! I'm in...I struggled in the past and need to shake myself of this CRAZY ass body dismorphia issue!
A. I love you.
B. You know what I think about this situation. I feel so strongly about it. We should never be taught to hate our bodies. They are blessings and miracles!
So I started this Project 31 thing that I saw on someone elses's blog, I've only gotten to day 6, but it seems to be along these lines. Check out the questions on my blog, might be something you would be interested in.
Thank you to all of you lovelies for the enthusiasm! Hopefully I can make the week inspiring with all of your help. You guys are all gems!
Hi Amy. I think this is great. I guess you could say that I suffer from body- no, not body- self image issues as well. I'd encourage you to not only talk about body image issues but self image issues as well. I don't hate my body but I've spent the better part of my life thinking that I'm ugly. It's something that plagues me on a daily basis and pretty much ruined high school for me. Anyway, I'd like to see some posts about being happy to be the person that you are and loving all your positive qualities rather than only focusing on what's wrong with your looks or your body, you know? If you're interesting in the self image issue as a topic, I'd be interested in possibly writing a small something that would be uplifting.
Dear Amy,
Body and Self image is very important. Loving yourself is important. I will blog about it this week and if it's ok with you put a link to your blog so that other can become aware of it.
One tip I have for everyone is to accept change, your body is going to change and you have to learn to love it. Love the change. I will post more about this topic this week
-Melanie
I am all for this. I look forward to seeing the posts to come!
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I totally agree with this post. i think loving your bod i one of the hardest thing to do.. well for me i know it is. I'm starting to love it more and more.. my aunt has many problems and still suffers from her eating disorder, her body is a mess because of it and only has a few more years left to live.. when i found that out i decided, wtf why do i take care of my body? thats when it happen i decided i better start eating healthier and doing something my body loves yoga! yoga yoga yoga. gives balance, you feel sore after (i love that because you know it worked..) and it kicks but. also my dad bought a juicer. at first he started juicing weird veggies that should not be juiced but after awhile he got the hang of it he made awesome cleansing juices! really cleans out all the toxins from your body.. i felt a ton better..
im really cheesy when it comes to talking about healthy foods but i did research and know a bit about it. i read the skinny bitch book and it has really awesome tips on eating right. its a very blunt straight forward book and i love it.
thanks for the blog post it really made me think.
-gabby
I came across this post from my BFF Kim's blog and I love it. I so agree with you that there's so much focus on not being obese, which I do feel is unhealthy, but I also feel it's just as unhealthy to be on the other end of the spectrum. I've noticed that no matter how comfortable I want to feel about my body it seems like the media is always telling you that you should be thinner or you're not pretty. Sad. I'll definitely be catching Kim's guest blog post and hopefully more. Thanks for sharing!
Bless your heart. You are awesome for talking about this and for the positive messages you are sending. Let me say that once I read something to this effect: Imagine the power for good that women could be if they could turn their energies away from criticizing their own bodies. (I can't find the exact quote, but it was along these lines.) Way to go for reminding people to love and enjoy their own bodies, and their lives.
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