On Treatment.

Only you can decide to recover. You're in charge of your recovery. These statements were probably the most valuable ones I learned throughout my own recovery. These statements can be scary but they are also incredibly empowering if you think about it. YOU can decide to recover and you are in charge of that process when it all comes down to it.

I learned through my stay in inpatient and also my outpatient treatment that no professional is going to automatically be able to make you recover. Yes, they can give you valuable information. They can help you work through the underlying causes that led to your disorder in the first place. They can give you food and make your weight increase on the scale. But even if your number is increasing and you know intellectually all the answers, you're only going to get better when you yourself are truly ready to do so.

These concepts are important for people entering treatment and also for their families. Treatment is great, of course, but it is just a step in the process.. in the long road to recovery. It is not the end all be all. Through my treatment, yes, I was forced to eat and I spoke about the underlying causes of my disorder and perhaps gained some clarity, but as soon as I got out I was left to my own devices again and since I was so accustomed to starvation.. I continued to do this until I was truly ready to overcome the illness. Thus, after I got out of inpatient, there was still about a year where I was in recovery. Treatment wasn't a magical, overnight solution. And it's important to know this and to have that realistic mentality so that you do not set yourself up for failure. Recovery is a long journey no matter what, as it should be. It takes a long time to get into an actual disorder (doesn't just happen overnight), so it's not going to just be a snap of the fingers to get out of it.

So yes, I do advocate for treatment if you are suffering. But I advocate for treatment when you are ready and have a realistic mindset that it is going to be a lot of work and a step in the process. Remember: only you can decide to recover. You're in charge of your recovery.

ED.