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For those of you that don’t feel “sick enough” to recover:

1. What IS “sick enough” to you? What does “sick enough” even fucking mean? A certain number on the scale? A certain jean size? I hate to break it to you, but you will never feel sick enough while you are still in your eating disorder. You will always want to do a little bit more and you will always believe that you can. 

2. Do it: try to get sicker. See how far it gets you. When you end up in treatment/the hospital gaining to the same fucking weight you would have had to if you’d gotten help sooner, think about all those months/years of your life that you wasted just to have “a little” more time in your eating disorder. 

3. While you work on getting “sick enough,” think about the people around you that are woking on going to school, starting a career, creating a family, traveling, building relationships, and living. Maybe once you are sick enough, you will be able to do all of that too? [hint: you won’t]

If you want a different life, stop making excuses for your eating disorder and start committing to change. Time is ticking. 

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fixed it.

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write this everywhere. tell this to yourself everyday. there is no wrong way to have a body.

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POC Eating Disorder Zine Looking for Contributions!

I am Not White and I Have an Eating Disorder!

Project of Nalgona Positivity Pride

Are you a person of color who has struggled or is currently struggling with an eating disorder*?

Have you faced barriers in your journey because you do not represent the eating disorder stereotype?

Does your life intersect with multiple identities and experiences that have made your relationship with food distinct?

We are looking for:

People of color of all gender/sexual orientation identities.

Stories that reveal the intrinsic truth of our experiences as folxs of color with food problems.

Honesty, vulnerability, and individuality.

Stories that include more than recovery stories.

Art, poetry(limited inquiries will be accepted), doodles, comics, reflections, nonfiction stories

Deadline: May 15th 2015

*implies all dysfunctional relationships with food, body image, & exercise that may or may not be diagnosed by the medical industrial complex

www.facebook.com/nalgonapositivepride

Suggestions:

What does decolonizing body love mean to you?

What was your experience inside a 12-step program or professional eating disorder institution?

Did you receive support from family and friends?

How were your relationships affected by your eating disorder?

Do you have a dual diagnosis?

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Pretty. Girls. DONT. Eat. 

I spent years wholeheartedly believing these four words.

This phrase consumed my thoughts to the point where I never thought I would be good enough until I could stop eating for good.

And I know I am not the only one.

If you have ever felt this way - or you feel that way now - just take a moment to remind yourself of two things:

1. PRETTY GIRLS DO EAT. 

2. BEING PRETTY IS NOT THE ONLY VALUE YOU HAVE AS A WOMAN

Im not the first person to point these things out. And I sure as hell hope I am not the last. But I hope one day when you google “pretty girls eat” that you see something different. 

Because… pretty girls fucking eat!!

aubernutter

they eat because eating makes you look and feel good

thefitally

they eat to look good in clothes

misfitting-skin

they eat to look good in a bikini

empyrealblue

they eat to feel good naked

2jam4u

they eat so they can lose weight

just-yasmeen

They eat so they can gain muscle

runningtowardmygoal

they eat so they eat so they can work out

car-dio

they eat to run to the top

sunnystrong

they eat to lift big

fit-and-skinny-kate

they eat to achieve that pose

imgonnamakeachange

they eat to compete

marisaaprice

they eat for their sport

fastgirlsdoitwell

they eat to have the strength and energy to love being active

trailblazinghijabi

they eat for bright eyes and clear minds

fitchris25

they eat for beautiful smiles and strong teeth

damnshelostweight

they eat to grow brows on fleek

fullybalanced

they eat for healthy skin

weight-a-second

they eat for strong beautiful hair

underground-health

they eat to love their selfies

cinnamon-toast-thighs

they eat because they love themselves 

exhaleandrun

and they eat because they love food and their bodies need food

goodhealthgoodvibes

One day I want little girls to google “pretty girls eat” and see pictures of beautiful women like this. 

Women who are not only beautiful, but so much more. (and if you follow them you KNOW that they all eat!)

Fuck “pretty girls don’t eat” Because we do. And we should remind each other of that until every lost girl who has had the misfortune of believing such a terrible lie can be shown the truth:

PRETTY GIRLS EAT.

HEALTHY girls eat.

STRONG girls eat.

DETERMINED girls eat.

CONFIDENT girls eat.

SMART girls eat.

HAPPY girls eat.

PRETTY. GIRLS. EAT.

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Non-cutesy self-care tips

Have you been eating well? If not, eat a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts. You need vitamins; you need protein.

You’re probably not drinking enough water.

When is the last time you showered? Take a cold shower to wake you up or a hot shower if you need to relax.

Do the laundry that’s been piling up. You’ve been wearing that sweatshirt for too long.

Take care of the dishes in the sink that have been there for three days and have started to stress you out.

Did you brush your teeth this morning? How about your hair?

Listen to the messages on your phone that have been there for days.

Go outside for at least a couple minutes. You don’t even have to do anything; just sit down. Breathe in the fresh air and get some vitamin D.

Open your blinds. Your room is too dark and it’s probably making you tired.

Spend some time with your pet. Pet them, feed them, take them for a walk or clean out their litterbox. Caring for them will make you feel useful and responsible and give you something to do.

The self-care posts that tell you to take a bath and eat chocolate and read a book are good, but do what needs to be done first. Eating chocolate when you haven’t showered in four days and you can’t remember when the last time you changed your underwear was won’t make you feel better. It will probably make you feel worse. Clean yourself up; clean your surroundings up. Then take care of the little things. Tackle life one thing at a time.

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Why Do I Feel Unloveable?

Often when people feel unloveable, it is tied into one of the following reasons: 1. As a child, a parent or authority figure either told you – or sent out the message that – you were unloveable. Because of that, you came to believe that your core self was deficient, unacceptable or inadequate. Now you find it hard to believe that anyone could ever love you as you, just for being you. 2. You experienced rejection, desertion or abandonment in one of your closest relationships. Now love feels scary, and is a source of anxiety and fear – rather than healing and security. 3. You feel regret for something you did, or the way you treated a person you loved. Hence, you don’t believe you deserved to be loved, or you fear you will make a mistake again. 4. You have developed a series of flawed beliefs that have coloured your expectations for love. For example, you may have concluded that love leads to pain …. or that no-one can be trusted … or love always ends. 5. A voice in your head says you cannot change so you don’t believe that “you have what it takes”. But none of us is perfect; we’re all on a journey; and if we choose to take a risk then we’ll find that we can change.

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What Is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar in a Nutshell (visual)

Signs and Symptoms of Bipolar I vs. Bipolar II

Bipolar Disorder vs. Borderline Personality Disorder: What’s the Difference?

Living with Bipolar Disorder

Keeping Your Balance

Six Key Coping Strategies

Support and Self-Help

Coping with Mania

What Does Being Manic Feel Like?

Suggestions for Managing and Coping with Mania

Coping with Depression

8 Ways to Actively Fight Depression

10 Ways to Cope with Depression

21 Tips to Keep Your Shit Together When You’re Depressed

Supporting Someone with Bipolar Disorder

Helping a Loved One with Bipolar Disorder

                  - 

Helping a Loved One Manage a Manic Episode

                  - 10 Ways to Show Love to Someone with Depression

Supporting Someone with Bipolar Disorder: Family and Friends

Loving Someone Who is Manic Depressive

8 Ways to Help Your Loved One Cope

 Other

Safety Plan

Stories of Coping and Courage

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA)

                  - Dealing Effectively

NAMI: Bipolar Disorder

                 - Understanding Bipolar and Recovery                  - Coping Strategies

Be sure to go to my RESOURCES page for more informational and support websites on bipolar disorder as well as worksheets to help you cope or track your mood. This page will be updated regularly and worksheet pages will be continuously added.

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I know people rarely read what I post but I think this is important and even if it reaches one person who needs it; I’ll be happy. 

Here are some apps for those struggling with mental illnesses. 

7cups of tea; Talk to real people and get support from them. 

SAMApp (Self-help anxiety management app); Track your anxiety and add coping skills to your toolbox. You can also use emergency coping skills when you’re in the middle of a crisis. 

MoodTools; It lets you create a safety plan for when you’re in a crisis situation. It also has a list of activities you can do and it let’s you rate your mood before and after the activity so that you know how effective that activity was. It also has a small quiz to help rate how your depression is at the moment. 

BipolApp; This is to track your bipolar disorder. It let’s you track mood, sleep, energy and anxiety. It also lets you add triggering/important events. 

All these apps are free on the Play Store. 

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This year in the Gold Coast Marathon we have decided to support The Butterfly Foundation which supports women with body image issues and eating disorders.

We really care about this cause, because sadly, if you're a woman (or a man, or a person) then you probably have, or a trying to, lose weight which is fine, but it bothers me that so many gorgeous people we know are so insecure about their weight. It's one thing to want to be fit and healthy, of course that is great. But as Eva and I have both endured erratic eating for my whole life we can't even begin to explain what it feels like to honestly let go of any desire to be skinny and to start to listen to my body.

We have both have dieted down to an unsustainable weight for my body and while I may have been thin, I was the most unhealthy and unhappy i've ever been. Now, I am finally in a place where I can listen to my body, and love and appreciate what it can do instead of hating on it for the way it looks. It took a lot of therapy and support to get here, but here I am and 10/10 would recommend.

Remember that not everyone with an eating disorder is underweight. Not everyone with an eating disorder doesn't eat. Not everyone with an eating disorder exercises excessively. You cannot always tell when someone has an eating disorder, they are easy to hide. But did you know that eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental health condition? It is estimated that approximately 1 in 5 eating disorder sufferers will die from complications due to their illness.

Everyone who struggles with food deserves help and support, and it is organisations like the Butterfly Foundation that provide that support that is so important. They stand for fostering positive body image, building self esteem, and creating healthy attitudes towards food and exercise. We think that it's so, so important for young people to have a positive relationship with themselves. You only live once and you can't have a good life if you have bad mental health.

If you don't want to donate just remember that food = life, and if you're happy and healthy there's no reason why you shouldn't eat that chocolate.

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Food Appreciation

(Both on our laptops)

Sister: Don't you think it's cool how our bodies run on energy that doesn't come from plugging ourselves into a power outlet?

Me: Yeah, because we get energy from what we eat. Food. Huh. When you think about it, that's really incredible.