Silver Linings' Blog Library
All posts are curated by recovered individuals with lived experience of an eating disorder(s).
he best part of recovery is not thinking about my eating disorder or food or exercise ALL THE TIME; that mental freedom. I know it sounds cliché, but it truly truly does quiet down over time. I can also feel things fully again. I can connect with people in real, meaningful relationships. Every single dream I have is now within reach because I’m no longer sick.
Before recovering from my eating disorder, I struggled the most with feeling like I needed the behaviours and the disorder to cope with life. It felt like my lifeline at the time and the only coping mechanism I had. Although it often provided some relief in the moment, the feeling was fleeting, and I was often left to deal with the consequences of the behaviours.
Neurodivergent individuals have an increased risk of developing eating disorders, often for reasons tied to sensory sensitivities, difficulties with emotional regulation, and other existing mental health conditions. We're creating an eating disorder training course for clinicians to help expand their knowledge and expertise in eating disorder care.
Eating disorders in BIPOC populations are frequently under-diagnosed and under-treated due to misconceptions about who these disorders affect. In addition to systemic biases, cultural norms, stigmas and misunderstandings around mental health can prevent individuals from seeking help when they need it most.
I used to think of hope as an emotion; something I would experience inside me that was similar to a wish, or a dream, or thinking positively about the future. My years in community and mental health work have given me different contexts to how hope is experienced, found and realized, leaving me with a much grittier view than my initial thinking.
Recovery is possible with the right support. I want to focus on the barriers that can prevent people from even starting on the path to recovery. I believe as care providers, it’s our responsibility to help remove as many barriers as possible, in order to lessen the load of an already arduous journey.
This week, I’m exploring an essential topic for understanding the journey of healing from an eating disorder: the difference between recovery and treatment. At first, I thought these terms were mostly interchangeable, but I’ve learned they are distinct, each playing a unique role on the path to healing.
Eating disorders are not a matter of "either you have one or you don’t." They don’t emerge overnight or out of nowhere; they grow, fed by a tangle of contributing factors. Although clinical diagnoses have specific criteria, the experiences that lay the groundwork for eating disorders are unfortunately familiar to most people. Each of us has a body, and with that comes a relationship with that body.
Eating disorders are not a matter of "either you have one or you don’t." They don’t emerge overnight or out of nowhere; they grow, fed by a tangle of contributing factors. Although clinical diagnoses have specific criteria, the experiences that lay the groundwork for eating disorders are unfortunately familiar to most people.
My goal with ‘Corinne in Community’ is to engage those who, like me, consider themselves informed mental health advocates but may not fully understand how eating disorders fit into that larger discussion. Through this series, I’ll be diving into the complexities of eating disorders, guided by our expert team at SLF and the stories of those with lived experience.
