From Client to Therapist

Well. Apparently I haven't posted in here since the TV show. I thought I'd give a little update for anyone interested.

I'm 27 years old now. I have been doing very well in my recovery for a few years now. I graduated in April of this year with my masters in social work and am now a therapist! I work with children, teenagers, and adults with a variety of mental health concerns, including eating disorders.

It's amazing to go back in posts and see the change in cognitions, attitude, motivation, etc. There sure has been a lot of growth. No pun intended. ;)

Eating-disorder wise, I always like to say I'm recovering, not recovered. The reason for that is that I believe it's a disorder that can be learned to be managed. Some people report never feeling anxious over their eating or body, but that's not me. I still continue to feel anxious (definitely not to the extent as it was years ago!!!) occasionally about my body, but in reality, who doesn't? Even people without an eating disorder have body image concerns. In a society that's constantly telling us that we need to CHANGE something about ourselves...whiten your teeth, slim down, firm up, wear slimming clothes...how can we not have some discomfort with ourselves? And for those people who do/did have an eating disorder, the disorder may have been a way to attempt to find some sort of control, and thus, it may resurface under stressful situations or during events that are perceived as being out-of-control. As a recovering person, I still find myself feeling more anxious about my body during stressful life events, conflict, life transitions, etc. But what's more important is how I react to those events. I consider myself recovering because I do not act on urges I may have. For those that are interested in this concept, ask your therapist about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

I'll try to update this more regularly. I'll leave you with a question: do you consider yourself recovered, recovering, or are you still struggling? How will you know when you are recovered?

Things are getting real...

I never thought macro social work was for me.


I was interested in person-to-person therapy, not addressing social concerns on a larger scale through policy development, lobbying, etc.


But...my interests are changing. I'm still interested in clinical social work, but I'd like to be an active advocate for eating disorder recovery as well.


Thus:

• I'm working for a non profit called Eating Disorders & Education Network (EDEN) as an eating disorder consultant. I maintain our Facebook and Twitter pages, I developed a new website for the organization (in the process of linking it to our old domain so I'm not going to post the link yet), I actively respond to comments, questions, concerns brought to me through our Facebook page, and I designed the flyer for our fundraiser benefit in May. I'm also on the committee for organizing our annual 5K. Last year I also organized the 5k through the Big House Big Heart race in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

• I'm organizing a trip to Washington D.C. to lobby for the FREED Act along with the Eating Disorders Coalition. So far friends, in-recovery friends, fellow social work students, and even some people I don't know are going! We need NUMBERS (the irony).

• I designed I SURVIVED t-shirts through my online store BreakUpWithED.

• I actively promote positive body image messages, point out unhealthy and disordered talk/actions, and serve as a media watchdog (pointing out harmful images/ideas/words to media organizations), if you will.

• I am registered with the National Eating Disorders Association's Awareness Week (NEDAW) as a speaker, which means schools, organizations, events, etc., can find me on the database and request me to talk with them. I received training through a webinar early this week and now feel confident about telling my story and educating others in a manner that is safe for myself and them.

You can be a recovery advocate too. Get involved.