OUR ED BACKSTORIES

In the podcast this week my mom and I opened up about our ongoing struggles with eating disorders and recovery. We thought it was fitting because it is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. First off, if you haven't listened to this week's episode, stop and go listen ASAP (HERE!). 

In the podcast we didn't go too far into our backstories but focused more on a real time update and the continued struggles we've experienced. After the podcast went live I had quite a few people who were curious about how we got to this point and our experience when we were in the darkest parts of our experience. 

So I figured why not create a post answering those questions....You can hear/read about my entire story in this post and on The F- Word podcast (episode 15). I also dive into some coping tools and a recovery focused book that I love in this post.

My mom has just recently become a huge part of Crohnically Blonde so has not yet had the chance to share her full story. Diane shared a bit about her past struggles with anorexia and how her struggles and then recovery evolved through having children and then combating Crohn's.

I hope ya'll enjoy what she has to share and I am so excited for her to continue to share her experiences and wisdom with us!

"My story:


I began my issues with Anorexia in early high school, didn’t seem to have issues in college, resumed my issues after college and seemingly moved beyond my issues a few years after my second daughter was born. While in high school, Anorexia was recognized, but not discussed much and according to what I knew, not many people knew how to deal with it.  My best friend was concerned and talked to my parents. I vaguely remember my parents addressing it with me and my dad trying to convince me to eat ice cream. 


After college when I got married, I resumed my anorexia. I don’t remember during any of this time anyone ever telling me that I was fat or too big. It was all me. Why?  Was there a gene involved? Was it a product of my apparently not so happy childhood?  Was it society?  Yes. No. I don’t know.  I just knew that I had to carefully watch what I ate, make sure I exercised a lot and never got above a certain weight that I had determined was my healthy weight according to my perception of how I looked. And this was a full time job as I thought about it constantly. There were a couple of times that I allowed myself to gain some weight.  When I was trying to get pregnant. Because at the lower weight, I didn’t have my period.  During this time of trying to get pregnant, being pregnant and after the births during breast feeding, I was still very obsessed about what I ate and how much I exercised. Actually, I weighed my least amount ever when my second daughter was one. 


What happened next?  I don’t know exactly, but about two years later I sought help for what was diagnosed as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  Besides medication, I saw a counselor that helped me through some issues that I didn’t realize I had.  I am very good at shutting off parts of my life. Then I didn’t seem to have Anorexia any more.  


Really?  Okay maybe not Anorexia, but I still had body image issues which I didn’t fully acknowledge for many more years. I raised my girls knowing I had had an eating disorder so was very careful not to let my vocabulary and behavior show this or affect them.  I thought I did a good job with that. Well, no I didn’t. 


Today, I still have body image issues and now I have Crohns. 


This is where in my story Michelle and I pick up to discuss the issues-do you mentally ever get past an eating disorder?  How does it evolve as you get older?  What about other health issues on top of it?   What about social media?"

xx