The Beauty of Recovery

I was diagnosed with my eating disorder at 14. I had always been known as the “small one,” and I felt like I had to maintain that image for people to like me. It began with exercising excessively. I was a gymnast, so I pushed myself to train harder and longer than necessary. Then I started restricting. I created strict rules about what I could eat and punished myself if I didn’t follow them.
After my diagnosis, I received hospital support, followed by years of outpatient treatment. That support helped me get to where I am today. I’m 19 now and have officially been out of treatment and in recovery for two years.
These two years have been incredibly rewarding, but also incredibly challenging. The hardest part of choosing recovery was figuring out who I was again. The eating disorder had taken so much of my identity, and finding myself again required patience, compassion, and a lot of mistakes along the way.
But I came out stronger and kinder. I’ve accomplished things I never thought I’d be able to do again, and I’m proud of the person I’ve become. I, of course, couldn’t have become the person I am today without my family, friends, therapists, and all the medical staff who helped me along the way, but most importantly, my courage and strength helped me get to where I am. I am grateful for choosing recovery, and I would choose it over and over again.