By Benazir Radmanesh, Silver Linings volunteer
Everywhere we turn today we are surrounded by messages telling us what we should eat, how we should exercise and what our bodies should look like. It’s a lot of noise and confusion for the average person. It’s a potential minefield for someone recovering from an eating disorder.
The beginning of eating disorder recovery can feel like walking on a tightrope: wobbly and unstable. It’s a very vulnerable time. But even years into recovery, being surrounded by societal messages pushing perfection and achievement can be overwhelming.
For me, a phrase that I held steadfastly during my recovery and to this day is stay in your own lane. These words remind me that what I need for my recovery might not be what someone else needs for theirs and vice versa. And, they help me stay true to my path when co-workers gossip about their latest diets or I see an Instagram influencer promoting a new supplement or workout, or I feel pressured to adopt a new fashion trend.
It’s crucial to remember that eating disorders are mental illnesses. Recovery puts the illness into “remission.” While staying true to your path--staying in your own lane--helps keep the illness there. As you interact with those around you, remember that they may not have this mental illness. Plus, societal messages affect everyone differently. Your healing and recovery are what matters most, so if necessary, try to shut out the world’s noise and keep focused on the task at hand.
For me, this has meant tuning out when others talk about their workouts and diets, not following fitness models and “gurus” on social media, and not feeling pressured into fashion trends that make me feel self-conscious and uncomfortable. It’s meant not buying magazines with unrealistic images and not discussing weight with friends and family. But most of all, whenever I’ve started to feel the pull of someone else’s path, it’s meant reminding myself of the pain, obsession and suffering that my illness caused versus the freedom that I enjoy now.
Today, with solid years of amazing recovery under my belt, I wouldn’t want to be in any other lane than my own--a lane of recovery from an eating disorder. Looking back on where I came from, I know that the peaceful lane of freedom is the only lane for me and that staying on it is worth doing whatever it takes.
