In the News – Living Out Loud

Skip to content

Living Out Loud

Recover Your Best Self™

Welcome
- Welcome
About
Inquiries
- Business & Media Opportunities
- Events and Appearances
Life Coaching
Book
- Safety In Numbers
- Purchasing Options
Blog
Links & Resources
- Brittany’s Social Media
- Eating Disorder Resources
Contact
- Contact

In the News

[display-posts category=”news” include_excerpt=”true” image_size=”thumbnail”]

Spread the love

Post navigation

Social Media

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

Search

Search for:

Recent Posts

Recovery Is Hard
Beyond Food and Weight
Recovery Feels Wrong
Walk Away
You Are Not Your Disorder

Follow Me on Instagram

brittanyburgunder

😈The difficulty with eating disorder recovery i

😈The difficulty with eating disorder recovery is that it will feel awful both to get well, and to stay sick. The question comes down to which is just a little bit less horrible. To complicate things further, your judgment will be compromised by your eating disorder manipulating your vision. You know how you can receive 99 compliments, but only remember the one critic? Well, eating disorders have a knack for doing that also —except the opposite. It will gloss over the 99 negatives and magnify the one positive.

When you've lived with an eating disorder long enough, it can be hard to distinguish your voice and self as separate from your disorder. How will you know who and what to trust? If recovery feels so uncomfortable, and your eating disorder constantly interrupts to remind you it can make you happy —how do you make the right choice?

This is something I personally wrestled with for many years. My eating disorder was exceptionally loud and persuasive. And it was not just persuasive —it was clever. My eating disorder did not just glorify the good memories, it also made sure I remembered I did not deserve to get better or be happy. Twisted right? An eating disorder promises you happiness while simultaneously reminding you that you deserve the hell it creates.

I don't have a magic wand to make the choice to recover any easier for you. But I can tell you that I have lived through both options. In fact, my skepticism about recovery led me to exhaust the pros and cons of each choice to the point where my ambivalence became its own hinderance. But the choice to recover was the one that fulfilled the happiness I sought.

Recovery felt worse at first, and my disorder felt better. It was only in hindsight that I could clearly see the hell of my disorder, and this is because I stayed in recovery. ~Britt💜

🧁"I'm so fat! Oh my gosh did someone just bring

🧁"I'm so fat! Oh my gosh did someone just bring fresh donuts? 100, 200, 300 —how many calories did I burn at the gym? I need to eat less! Wait, what just happened? How could you have binged —AGAIN? Throw up, take laxatives, run 5 miles —NOW! Just 10 more pounds I swear. Once I weigh X I'll be happy."

If you didn't know much about eating disorders, it may be easier to conclude they are about food and weight given the statements above. But the easy explanation is often the wrong explanation when it comes to eating disorders and mental health. The hidden reasons which drive the disorder are often counterintuitive, illogical, and complex. Eating disorders are NOT about food, nor weight. Underneath the weight obsessions and orchestrated drama with food, is an attempt to numb pain and regulate emotions.

—You may see someone who is too thin. You don't see how eating less quiets their anxiety.
—You may see someone who eats absurd quantities of food. You don't see how bingeing allows them to temporarily escape life's problems.
—You may see someone who has a stash of laxatives, three bathroom scales, and cupboards of junk food. You don't see how a binge-purge cycle enables them to bury past traumas so they can function in life.

You may see certain physical manifestations and behavioral abnormalities, but this is only a byproduct of the deeper issue at hand. Fixating on food and weight provides an effective way to distract yourself from more difficult emotions. The temporary relief is addicting —quite literally. These feelings and emotions that you may have trouble discerning quickly vanish when you turn to eating disorder behaviors.

It's easier to let your body speak about the pain you cannot utter. This is what lies beneath the veil of food and weight compulsion. It doesn't matter HOW your behaviors manifest, or WHAT you look like. It does matter WHY. And once you have this awareness you can begin to heal. ~Britt💜

✨WE ARE MORE THAN WE APPEAR! — Do you have any

✨WE ARE MORE THAN WE APPEAR!
— Do you have any to add?
— Share a compliment and tag a friend. I’m sure it’ll make their day!☀️

Follow on Instagram

Contact

Professional Inquiries Only. For business and media related opportunities, or inquiries regarding "Safety in Numbers" please contact Brittany Burgunder by Email: inquiries@brittanyburgunder.com or Phone: 805.234.7148

Search

Search for:

Book

Buy Safety in Numbers on Amazon

Policies

Privacy Policy

© 2019 Living Out Loud. Website Designed by Webeclectic.com | Theme: | Designed by Smartcat Smartcat Logo