“We want things so badly – that job, that check, a relationship, a possession. We want our life to change…. We try to predict, circling dates on the calendar, asking questions…. we forget that we don’t hold the answers” – Melody Beattie Patience, this is a concept that many individuals struggle within our society. We live in a society that constantly craves the here and now, the immediate results, and instant gratification. We want, need and desire the concept of that quick fix, in that the media sends us messages that we can achieve results in one week or one day, we are flooded with before and after photos, and the concept of immediacy within every aspect of our life! How are we supposed to achieve self-care, self-love, and a safe level of health in a world that doesn’t allow the time to heal and take care of ourselves? How can we truly change and grow with this pressing mindset in the absence of time, quality and patience? We cannot grow, change, heal and achieve recovery within this quick fix world; therefore we must change our mindset and monitor our expectations, in that change and recovery does not occur within
Author: Recovery Love & Care
Feel Good Look Good Series – A New Take on Dressing for Success – Collaboration with East Coast Gypsy and Recovery Love and Care!
Life is all about change, transition, and growth, and without discomfort we cannot truly grow as human beings. Therefore in a world filled with many moments of discomfort it is best to avoid it when unnecessary! For instance, feeling uncomfortable in your clothes is something that no one should endure, in that it can truly lower your self esteem, and drive for the rest of the day. We follow so many rules, regulations, challenges, and standards within our day-to-day lives, therefore why not think outside the box when it comes to what you wear? Why not give yourself a little bit of self-love, and self-care within your wardrobe? I know that throughout my entire life, I have felt the need to dress a certain way, and look a certain way in order to “fit in”, in order to gain acceptance from others. Simple things like wearing skinny jeans, high heels, or crop tops, but in reality I HATE wearing skinny jeans, in that I physically do not feel comfortable in them. It is not a matter of self-loathing, it is a matter of me just not feeling comfortable, and with that discomfort comes lack of self love and self care
Feel Good Look Good Series AND The Tiny Tassel Give Away!
***A winner has been chosen!*** I am starting a series that is near and dear to my heart! This series is about FEELING your best while embracing your outward appearance! This is something that we can all benefit from, especially for those within their Eating Disorder Recovery, or for those working through body positivity, low self-esteem, and/or self-care! Recovery Love and Care is all about living for life love and self-care, and in order to do that successfully, a multidimensional approach is crucial! For instance, your health, your mind, your feelings and emotions, your family, your energy, your spirituality, your soul, your body, your inner self, and your outer self are ALL important within the practice of self-love and self-care! Everything that makes you, YOU, is important…and that is self-care and self-love at its finest! So when I talk about feeling good and looking good, I mean this in the absence of shame, and only in the presence of self-care and self-love, in that we all deserve to feel good and look good, whatever that means to you! With that being said, I am kicking this week off with a treat! Seeing that National Eating Disorder Awareness Week just
Healthy Is The New Skinny – A Five Star Book Review!
Healthy Is the New Skinny started out as a blog, website, and forum for women of all shapes, sizes, ages, and demographics, who were in need of a new message that challenged the common conception that women need to be small in order to achieve success and happiness. The blog, turned into a brand, Instagram movement, clothing line, and now book! Katie H. Willcox provides a fresh perspective into the world of size shaming, consumer America, and the finding happiness within our lives dependent of our shape, or weight! As a growing blog, and brand focused on body positivity, self-love, self-care and Eating Disorder Recovery, as well as, a developing Clinical Mental Health Counselor, I can proudly say that Healthy Is the New Skinny is a book worth reading! It is a safe and helpful read for ALL individuals, in that Katie has created a strong piece of work that is clearly based on research and awareness towards true self-love within a “picture perfect world”. We live in a world filled with filters, hash tags, likes, Photoshop, and fabrication, therefore books like Healthy Is the New Skinny are necessary and crucial within our journey towards a world filled with honesty,
The Awareness Doesn’t Stop Here!
National Eating Disorder Awarness Week is coming to an end, but the awareness does not stop here! I got this tattoo almost three years ago, this tattoo represents, strength, beauty, self love, self worth, and recovery! After living with an Eating Disorder the majority of my young life, I can now say I am recovered! Full Recovery IS POSSIBLE, but it takes hard work, dedication, and desire to grow and change! It was the most difficult and trying journey, but oh my goodness was it worth it! Let’s continue to spread awareness, truth and education about ED Recovery! Below are three truths within ED Recovery, that I will touch upon throughout my future posts!
More Than a Number
Within the body positive world, it is often said that happiness is beyond the scale. This concept is incredibly difficult, if not, at times impossible to grasp for those deep within an eating disorder. An entire book could be written just on this concept, therefore in this short post I will touch upon this myth within the numbers. How many times have you thought/said/heard these statements? “If only I were smaller” “I wish I was two sizes smaller, then I would be happy” “If I could get to ____weight my life would be perfect” “The only thing that I don’t have under control is my weight, and size” “I would kill for that body” “I wish I was a size smaller” “I wish my boobs were bigger” “If I had those hips I could rule the world” Our society places so much importance on numbers, in that our clothing sizes and number on the scale determines success and worth, but do they? Does that number on the scale, bra size, pant size, or dress size actually determines success and happiness? The answer is 100% NO, happiness is not determined by a number, it is not determined by a piece of
Self Love, Short and Sweet
Here is my professional and personal take on self-love, I’ll make this short and sweet! Self love is a new concept to many, in that it is not something that we were taught about in school, it is not something that was drilled into our minds much like math, science, and geography, instead it is a concept that is incredibly foreign to us. Why is this? Why is such an important and crucial concept so new to us within our adult years? I don’t quite have the answer to this, because the lack of self-love has fostered a world of negativity, hatred, illness, and self-loathing. In a world filled with selfies, hash tags and filters, it can be easy to view self love as selfishness, narcissism, and fabrication…. and yes, this does exist, but this is not self love. Self-love is appreciating the person that you are, accepting yourself for your flaws, loving yourself for the good and the bad, loving the black and white while also embracing the grey! Self love is loving yourself, for yourself, not for someone else’s gratification, not doing it for likes on Instagram and Facebook, not doing it for followers, or social acceptance,
Why We Workout
As discussed many of times within this blog, exercise can be a sticky situation within ED recovery. Exercise is a beautiful thing, but only when practiced in a healthy and safe fashion, with good intentions. I used to work out to achieve a certain ideal, to look a certain way, to find a bit of self-acceptance in my reflection. I used to work out to sweat until I deserved that pizza, to push myself so hard that I was too exhausted to eat. I used to work out for what I thought was self-love, but in reality it wasn’t self-love, it was self-loathing, ring any bells?! We say that we work out and exercise for self care and self love, but are we really doing just that? Or are we using this as an excuse to fit a mold, to fit an ideal? How many times have you heard, I worked out today, so I deserve that cookie, or I ran five miles, so I can go out to eat now. Or how about, I was so good today, I went to the gym, or I’ve been so bad I haven’t worked out so I can’t eat that. What is
Five Ways to Celebrate Recovery!
In honor of Eating Disorder Awareness week below is a handful of ways to recognize and celebrate your own recovery, as well as, spread awareness! Your recovery hero is first and foremost yourself, which is a beautiful achievement, but there are also other heroes within our life that helped us through our eating disorders, were the catalyst to recovery, or maybe just influenced self-awareness. Whether your recovery hero knows about their impact on you and your recovery or not, take the time to acknowledge them! Celebrate your hero! This can be intimidating at first so here are some ideas on ways to acknowledge that special someone in your recovery journey! -Make a picture collage and post it on social media, send it to them, or frame it as a gift! -Make a playlist that embodies the spirit behind your recovery journey -Write a letter to your recovery hero and send it in the mail or read it to them out loud! -Treat your recovery hero to an afternoon with you, show them love, respect and appreciation through vulnerability and friendship! -Give your hero a hug, and just say thank you! Social media, in particular Facebook and Instagram can be incredibly
National Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2017!
This week is Eating Disorder awareness week! What does this mean? There is an entire week dedicated towards educating the public and honoring those within their Eating Disorders and Eating Disorder Recovery. February 26th to March 4th will be focused on continuing the conversation about Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, and Eating Disorders other specified, as well as, educating the public about the truth behind Eating Disorders, continued funding towards Eating Disorder treatment, honoring the recovered, and spreading love and awareness to those affected by Eating Disorders and those who lack an understanding of Eating Disorders and Recovery. The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) host’s week of awareness, therefore I encourage everyone to visit their webpage. NEDA offers a plethora of ways to not only get involved within Awareness week, but also offers resources for those in need of extra support, see below for a list of services… Free online screening for Eating Disorders Local and online resources for those in need Ways to raise awareness and get involved within the recovery community Local and global walks in honor of NEDA awareness week Stories of hope Resources for treatment and insurance Public health concerns and a conversation