麻豆社

What’s your go-to mantra when times get tough?

My two favourite body image quotes. One by Naomi Wolf, which is “The woman wins who calls herself beautiful and challenges the World to change to truly see her.”

You are allowed to feel whatever you are feeling and it will go in its own time

Megan Jayne Crabbe

The second one is by Clementine Von Radics and it’s “Don’t worry about your body, it isn’’t as small as it once was but honestly the World needs more of you”

How do you approach a friend you think might be struggling with an Eating Disorder?

I would say, always just let them know that you are willing to listen. If they want to talk about anything, you won’t judge. No comments about weight, no comments about food. Just let them know that you are there; non-judgmentally. That’s the most important thing.

How did you deal with weight gain during recovery from an Eating Disorder?

When it comes to weight gain, I think we need to remind ourselves that it’s always scarier in our heads than it actually is. Realistically, if your recovery means that you’re going to gain weight, nothing horrible and scary is going to happen. That’s what your body needs to do. Trust your body.

You talk about intuitive eating a lot, what is it and how can I practice it?

Intuitive eating is basically listening to your body, listening to when you are hungry, when you are full, what you are craving, what you need nutritionally and not feeling guilty about eating.

There are load of resources - I would suggest reading ‘Health For Every Size’ by Linda Bacon to get you started.

What does your morning routine look like?

My morning routine is, generally, getting woken up by a dog hitting my in the face, feeding dogs, walking dogs and coffee somewhere. Always coffee.

Which coping strategies can I use to keep me motivated during recovery? It’s so damn hard and exhausting.

The best recovery tip I ever got was from my dad, he told me to think of the eating disorder like an Elephant; it’s huge, it’s strong and you don’t know what you’re doing but somehow you have to learn to train it. All you can do is enforce your power over it again and again. And you will train it eventually.

What’s the best/most important thing a parent of loved one did for you to support your recovery?

The most helpful thing my friends did for me in recovery was to be unashamed of their appetites, eat whatever they want and not apologise for eating. So shout out to my friends who just sat and ate ice cream with me on the sofa and didn’t feel guilty.

How do you pick yourself up when you feel stressed and overwhelmed?

Honestly, I don’t really pick myself up. I let myself be down. I think it’s so important that we let ourselves feel these emotions. You are allowed to feel whatever you are feeling and it will go in its own time.

Which coping strategies can I use to keep me motivated during recovery? It’s so damn hard and exhausting.

The best recovery tip I ever got was from my dad, he told me to think of the eating disorder like an Elephant; it’s huge, it’s strong and you don’t know what you’re doing but somehow you have to learn to train it. All you can do is enforce your power over it again and again. And you will train it eventually.

What’s the best/most important thing a parent of loved one did for you to support your recovery?

The most helpful thing my friends did for me in recovery was to be unashamed of their appetites, eat whatever they want and not apologise for eating. So shout out to my friends who just sat and ate ice cream with me on the sofa and didn’t feel guilty.

How do you pick yourself up when you feel stressed and overwhelmed?

Honestly, I don’t really pick myself up. I let myself be down. I think it’s so important that we let ourselves feel these emotions. You are allowed to feel whatever you are feeling and it will go in its own time.