How I knew I was fully recovered

[@G625-s1c]

omg yes! the hypervigilance!! i’ve dealt with this so much in the past couple months. while reflecting on the motives behind our choices can be a good thing, freaking out about whether or not i’m relapsing because a busy schedule and high anxiety is messing with my appetite & my ability to prepare regular meals isn’t helpful. part of a healthy relationship with food also means making it work and making sure to eat enough even when my meals aren’t beautiful and delicious all the time. i definitely agree that we need more talk about the nuance of full recovery because i definitely struggle to feel confident in my recovery and i had an unrealistic view of what full recovery “should” look like when i first decided to commit to it. i am pretty sure i now consider myself fully recovered, but i still struggle with fear of judgement and body shaming because unfortunately that’s a real thing that exists in my life and overcoming that is a whole different obstacle to tackle. i think recovering into a less ‘acceptable’ body size can make the process harder because when you are constantly bombarded with messages that people at your size should lose weight, it’s an uphill battle.

[@HelenScheiderrr]

A couple of times i asked myself, did i eat enough?? Wasnt that too little? Or okay? Or too much? And then my significant other is like, 'just trust your feelings, dont question yourself every time and seek for logical answer' and then im like damn, youre right

[@tacobella99]

I feel similar to this. I just kinda realized one day like “oh this kinda isn’t a thing anymore.” I mean of course I struggle, especially in the past year with covid, but it’s different.

[@Lia.56SN]

The day I knew I was fully recovered was when I was at a restaurant and they asked me if I wanted a regular coke or a diet coke, I asked for the regular coke coz in my mind calories didn't matter in the slightest anymore, that was the first time I actually realize "I'm actually recovered" it has been 8 months now, not even one relapse, it's gone 🙌

[@juanagonzalez6443]

Can i ask how old u r... and how long were u ill.... and were u inpatient... thank u.

[@Lia.56SN]

@@juanagonzalez6443 I'm 21 now and used to have an ED since I was 16 yo, I've never been inpatient coz I believed I was not "sick enough" for that, so I got to overcome it all on my own

[@juanagonzalez6443]

@@Lia.56SN Wow!!! Impressed... but also VERY sad 4 u.... U R admirable and brave... and u give me a ton of hope!! THANK YOU!

[@Lia.56SN]

@@juanagonzalez6443 I'm so glad to hear that! I guarantee you there's life after an ED and it's 10000 times better! ❤

[@35mmonrose]

oh my god the paranoid thoughts used to be so real for me. like i would question whether or not working out like once or twice a week was disordered or if stretching after sitting 8 hours was disordered or if not eating because i wasn’t hungry was…you get the picture. guess it’s a natural paranoia purging process built into to many recovery journeys!

[@Laura-fh3sc]

The 'eating disorders are for life' thing is so damaging and it really pisses me off. It probably wasted an extra year of my life, because it was the first thing I saw when I looked up recovery stuff online. I just thought, well if full recovery isn't possible, what's the point in trying? It made me feel so hopeless and I wonder how many people have given up and ended everything over it. It wasn't until I found you I actually felt inspired and started committing to full recovery, but it just makes me so mad that actual therapists and medical professionals spout this stuff... You can't recover if you don't even know/think it's possible!! Okay, rant over lol.

[@xLittleulipx]

YESSSS I felt the same way. This "eating disorder are for life" made recovery so unattractive for me.

[@lizvtaz6]

I have cptsd (complex post-traumatic) and in mental health everyone literally believes that this is for life. Not true tho, after 3.5 years of work I have recovered. By the way - you have to find out what cptsd is and make sure you understand whether or not you have it. Many people have it and I think it can easily cause an eating disorder. I never had a full blown Ed but I developed a very weird minor form of bulimia (I think, I'm not sure what this thing is called) as a coping strategy for my cptsd. The more I healed cptsd the less I felt the urge to use those weird semi-bulimic behavior to cope. Sorry, I know this is ed community, I don't truly fit in here cause my main problem was a serious mental illness not an Ed, but I just felt like sharing my story...

[@brittanybutler3812]

This was so helpful! I’m a little over two years in now and sometimes feel like it’s taking too long. 😆 So then I wonder if I’m just stuck in quasi, but then I’ll notice some things getting easier or normal that didn’t used to be. I think maybe I’m also in the boat of needing to relax about it some and just let it happen, because it is. ☺️

[@SB-dk1ty]

This makes SO much sense ❤️ I was sick for 5 years, and I went into recovery 6 years ago. I found this channel around the time I was beginning my recovery journey. I am now fully recovered and I can 100% say that I wouldn’t be without Mia’s videos. I think one of the first I ever watched was “bikini body bullshit” and it resonated so much with me! Anytime I was having a struggle, the channel was there to get support and advice. I never sought professional help but I am now fully recovered and have been for about 4-5 years. It is POSSIBLE and so worth it!! ❤️❤️ Honestly cannot thank you enough Mia, you have helped me so much over the years and continue to do so xx

[@WhatMiaDidNext]

Oh my gosh, tears in my eyes, you've been around since the early days! Congratulations on your full recovery, proud of you!!!

[@juanagonzalez6443]

Did u do recovery wo anyone?!?!?

[@SB-dk1ty]

@@WhatMiaDidNext oh yay I’m so glad you read my comment! Thank you again for everything you do, you are making the world of difference. I still watch every video you upload religiously. Thank you and all the best to you xx

[@SB-dk1ty]

@@juanagonzalez6443 do you mean did I do recovery without anyone? Yes I did 🤩 Challenging my disordered beliefs and behaviours one at a time, every day, over and over... until it is just normal and food is just food. It is so freeing 💞 honestly this channel helped me so much. I loved the analogy Mia used where she was talking about being able to eat a piece of soggy toast and cold tea for breakfast because your kid made it for you, every meal doesn’t have to be perfect. Good luck to you in your recovery if you’re doing it right now xx

[@charlotte8659]

AMAZING video honestly. You’re so insightful. Full recovery is definitely subjective

[@ellay2715]

WOW I’m definitely in the “paranoia” stage where I’ve been so scared of relapse, even though my thinking is completely different now. I may still need to work on things as they come up, but I think I need to relax a bit. I’m safe now. Thank you so much for this video, it’s exactly what I needed ❤️❤️

[@natoshawithanO]

I’m 2 yrs 9 months in and I’m still stuck in that scared phase, don’t feel safe yet. Really trying to get unstuck from that

[@hollycomstock4204]

Thank you for sharing, caring and congratulations on your recovery, empathy, transparency and wisdom through your challenge. Bless you for helping others with your support. Thankyou for giving me hope

[@kirakirsanova9955]

I am 23 and have been working on recovering from my ED since I was about 17, and it is graduately getting better. But I still tend to relapse and binge for about a week, which affects my daily life and messes up my health and body size. I am not obsessed with being thin, but it upsets me that the occasional binges prevent me from feeling and being at my best. Then a couple of weeks ago I had a realization: "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! It is time to leave this part of my life in the past!" And I want to believe it's possible! I am so young, there has to be an option not to drag this with me anymore! I didn't think that this recovery "marathon" could have a finish line. But now I do. There has to be a finish line. It is close, I can feel it. And I WILL CROSS IT!

[@isabellal1252]

I would love to hear more about how to deal with the paranoid chatter with regards to food choices and how to deal with that. Let's say a person has allergies or sensitivities, how do you make sure that the voice keeping you from adverse physical reactions is not taken over or guided by an ED voice? My personal bout of disordered eating is already some 20 years in the past and I am mostly okay with being paranoid about nightshades in the food as they cause crazy painful inflammation, but if I had an active ED I wanted to recover from, and I am sure there are plenty of people who are at that stage, and they have life threatening allergies or other food sensitivities that really require monitoring, what kind of strategies are there to help keep these voices in check?

[@rachaelsaxon1750]

I wonder whether everyone has to find their own “recovered” position after the process of recovery teaches the broad brushstrokes that are needed. The right mixture of self awareness, self monitoring, and self acceptance to maintain a generally healthy emotional and physical balance must be very different for different people.

[@yahainHotPink]

This is such a beautiful video. I love your language analogy. I think I found you 4 or 5 years ago. ❤🌹🦋

[@kaitlinsmiley5385]

Everyone has their own views on being fully recovered or being in remission. I'm so happy my therapist and I went through the book by Carolyn Costin "8 Keys to Recovery from an Eating Disorder" and looked at the Fully Recovered journal entry. Both her and my dietician said from the beginning that full recovery is possible, and I know that I am recover(ed) Agree with you that I'm not sure how I would feel being in that mindset of remission the rest of my life. It still would seem restrictive and I would miss out on experiences. Thanks Mia for sharing your thoughts on this!

[@leekorten1791]

You are looking wonderful, I'm so happy that you've found your finish line. You are a huge support and I can't thank you enough for that. Sending love and best wishes to you 💞

[@kruzhka_chaya_]

I feel like I am really close to full recovery. The last thing I need to do is to process 17 years of my ED when I had zero emotions but now, many of them are back (which I am grateful for.) The turning point for me was when my ED memories started to terrify me, when I became very sorry for the little girl who had to deal with all this. I kind of saw everything in a completely different light, the one that was self compassionate and caring, something I could never do before. Now, I feel physically sick at the very thought of an ED behavior, so I don't have to fight the urges anymore. I just need to reconcile with the fact that I can't go back to my younger self and prevent all this from happening.

[@greernorton8419]

What a very helpful video

[@amie1234ish]

How do you know your recovery date? Is it from the last time you had an 'eposide'?

[@hannahbellez]

For me it was when I decided I was 100% fed up with the behaviors. And I use that day as my recovery start day.

[@Heyvannahbethea]

Review the show physical on Apple TV !

[@melinasadat8239]

Hi luv, hope you're doing great 💕 Can you help me with something? I just can't seem to find the right answer to my question :"( " do we have specific times to eat? Should we eat on time? Is there a BEST/WORST time to eat?" Y'know I'm trying to recover and this whole time thing just doesn't let me!! Like I have to cancel plans to go home to eat or otherwise my "Perfect Time" is gonna go to waste🤦🏻‍♀️ Can you tell me what do YOU do? You have specific times? Or you eat when you feel hungry regardless of the mealtimes?

[@liz7064]

Sydney people, how’s lockdown going?