life – Wings of Recovery

A Message to ED

ED,

Notice I didn’t say ‘Dear ED’. I only use that term as a term of endearment and you, ED, are not endearing. You are so unwanted that there isn’t strong enough words in the world to tell you how unwanted you are.

Once upon a time you were my best and one and only friend. For a long time, I thought you were helping me. You came into my life quietly, offering control when everything felt out of control. You whispered lies that sounded like truths—that being thinner meant being better, safer, more worthy. You convinced me that if I just followed your rules, I’d finally feel enough. And at first, it felt like maybe you were right.

But slowly, you took more than you gave. You turned my thoughts into obsessions, my confidence into fear, my body into a battleground. You made me believe that hunger was strength, that isolation was discipline, that shrinking made me powerful. You made me feel guilty for existing. You stole joy, relationships, spontaneity—everything that made me. You made promises you never intended to keep.

And the truth is—I’m tired. I’m tired of living in fear of food, tired of measuring worth in calories and numbers, tired of the constant war inside my head. I want more than what you offer. I want peace, connection, laughter. I want my life back.

This letter isn’t about pretending you were never there. I know you showed up for a reason. You tried to protect me in a world that sometimes felt too much. But your protection has a price I can’t pay anymore. So here’s the truth…I DON’T NEED YOU.

I’m learning to trust my body again. To listen to hunger not as weakness but as wisdom. I’m learning that healing is messy, but it’s mine. And every step I take away from you is a step toward freedom. YOU DON’T GET TO DEFINE ME!

Goodbye—for now, for good, or however many times I need to say it.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I know and believe that those of us who suffer from an ED of any type can beat it. It is hard work and at times feels impossible; but I am sure it is a goal that is obtainable to all of you out there.

KEEP YOUR CHIN UP! Take baby steps towards your recovery, put one foot in front of the other and know, with a capital K, you CAN do it. Even if you can’t see it now, the world needs you!

Fear

Fear is very real to those who have an eating disorder. We fear just about everything; from ourselves, to being a burden to others, failure, not being good enough, just to name a few. If you are like me, you live in fear 99% of the time. If you ask us what are we afraid of, most of us will say “I don’t know”. Could that answer indicate that we are afraid to look at much less confront our fears? Only you yourself can answer that question honestly.

My fears take both mental AND physical (called somatic) forms. I can feel it in my stomach (remember the butterflies in your stomach you got when you were afraid as a child) and in my throat which begins to physically hurt. Those are my somatic symptoms. The mental symptoms can be so overwhelming that we either fight (physically or verbally), freeze (withdraw into ourselves) or flight (we get the hell out of there or away from the person). I am quite sure that each of you reading this blog have experienced fear in one of these three ways. I, unfortunately, still tend to freeze. Then I beat myself up for standing there and taking whatever is causing the fear. Not very productive or positive of me. 2 years into recovery and that is an area that is still very hard for me to remember to use my tools from my toolbox.

First let’s look at the different things fear can stand for; which one of the above saying do you find to hold the most truth for you?

So what can we do to help calm our fears as they arise? How do we deal with them both mentally and physically?

Using the first example could bring to mind that what we perceive leading to our feelings of fear may not be true. In order to see if this is the case we need to ‘Check the Facts’. What evidence do we have to allow us to stay in the fear mode? This can be extremely hard to do since our fear wants to stay in control. It can color our thoughts and view point in unhealthy ways. We have to be able to look at the actual facts, NOT the facts as we wish they were. Much of how we do this is based on our use of the words we tell ourselves. Do the words ‘never’ or ‘should’ appear in our version of the facts? Just because our friend does not answer a text in the time frame we think they should does not mean they don’t like us anymore. But that may be the first go thought we have. In this case, what real evidence do we have to support this belief? Our fear doesn’t allow us to see or consider that our friend may be very busy or driving or any other many things that keep them from answering us in a timely manner. Does the evidence back up what we are thinking or feeling? Has our friend said anything to indicate that our thoughts are real? Remember… False Evidence Appears Real! With practice and asking ourselves what is the real evidence to my thoughts we can begin to challenge our fear.

By using the second meaning we will get nowhere fast UNLESS we are in physical danger, in which case absolutely follow it and run if you are able. If we are not in physical danger, running doesn’t usually do much to alleviate or calm our fears. In fact, it may make them worse as we tend to beat ourselves up when we don’t handle a situation like we think we ‘should’ (oh no, there’s that nasty word ‘should’)! See my blog on the Power of Words to see why ‘should’ ought not to be in our vocabulary. The tool I find to be the most useful to counteract the fear I am feeling is a Cope Ahead Plan. This is a written out plan of things you can do (breathing, meditation, self-talk, self-soothing, etc.) when faced with a situation that has the potential to create a level of fear within us that may cause us to react in a manner that does not help our recovery to move forward. Your professional support team can be a huge asset when trying to create such a plan.

I personally like the third option, because I work best when I am actually doing something about whatever issue I am trying to tackle. However this may not be your personality. Forget everything and rise. Rise above the fear. Handle it on the spot so it does not fester in our minds and grow larger and larger. Here is where the Cope Ahead Plan you have put together helps a great deal. Read it every day; this helps to firm up the plan on how we could handle our fear before it strikes again.

One of the ways we can get a handle on our fear is to talk to it. Ask it what is causing the fear to appear at this time. Listen for the answer. Don’t be surprised if the answer you get is “everything”. Ask the fear if it can be more specific. Whatever comes immediately to mind may be the thing you fear the most. In my case, it is the fear of not being good enough. I then ask it to tell me “what will be good enough”. This question then enables me to start to examine what do I need to believe I am good enough. I can then use one of the above definitions of fear to begin to lower the level of the fear I feel. Your question(s) may be different from my questions; make the question(s) specific to you. If you aren’t able to come up with questions or answers your professional support team is there to help you. If you are able to ask questions directed to your fear, you are well on your way to lessening the level of it. This will not happen overnight it will take practice. Just start.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

KEEP YOUR CHIN UP! Take baby steps towards your recovery, put one foot in front of the other and know, with a capital K, you CAN do it. Even if you can’t see it now, the world needs you!

Masks

If you are like me, you go through our lives not knowing who you really are. We try hard to be everything to everyone. We do everything in our power to “be perfect”. We feel like we have to be all things to everyone. We try with all our might to not let others see what we believe we are or what we actually feel about ourselves. We are so lost in the idea of “who am I”, we have totally lost track of US! We feel as though we are nothing but masks that we can put on and take off depending on the situation. Our masks are some much a part of our lives we don’t even realize most of the time we are wearing them or switching them out. Masks allow us to pretend to be someone we want to be. If your life is unhappy, we usually have the belief that if we just could be what others say we should be we will just be happy. Then we put on our masks to hide who are really are.

I have come to realize that the masks we think we wear aren’t masks, but really are parts of us. Usually they are small parts of us that really exist. After all, how can we wear a mask of something we don’t somehow, somewhere inside ourselves feel. If you put on what you view as a mask of kindness, you may be surprised to find kindness is really there inside of you. The mask of being happy contains the part of us that really strives to be happy, even though we may not think so. The mask of caring can show us that we are really a caring person even if we don’t feel it at that time.

As soon as we are able to understand masks aren’t masks but rather just a part of who we are deep inside we can begin to embrace each part of ourself. We can nurture it and help it to blossom and grow. We begin to believe we are NOT a phony, but rather who we are…a kind, caring, compassionate, loving, nurturing person.

What parts of you are you seeing as a mask? Does these parts of you exist buried somewhere inside of you? How can you bring those parts to the front of our life? This is where, again, your professional team can be of help. Make a list of the “masks” you think you wear. Put a check mark next to each of the items in your list that you know are a real part of you. I think you will be surprised at the results.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

KEEP YOUR CHIN UP! Take baby steps towards your recovery, put one foot in front of the other and know, with a capital K, you CAN do it. Even if you can’t see it now, the world needs you!

2 Years Ago

Today marks the 2 year anniversary since I entered the residential treatment facility for my eating disorder. I was a mess back then; confused, angry and in deep despair. I shook and cried the whole time during the intake process. I felt like a total failure. I hated knowing there was something I couldn’t tackle on my own. My self-hatred ran deep. I had had to rely on my daughter to get me to the treatment facility which also made me feel terrible. After all, I was the mom and I was supposed to take of her (even though she was an adult with her own child) not the other way around. Most of all, I was afraid. Probably the most afraid I can ever remember being in my life of 66 years. What would they do to me? How could anyone possibly help me; after all I was sure no one could help me. I had resigned myself that this disease was going to kill me. At that point that was preferable to the mental pain I was in.

As I have said I the “My Personal Journey “ blog I was not the “best patient”! I fought and fought to control everything. Fortunately, they had (I am sure) encountered other patients with the same attitude as me. I challenged everything they were trying to teach me. I hated being asked to do things I was not “perfect” at; sure that everyone was judging me. The staff at the facility were kind and patient. They listened to my fears and helped me to find out I could manage (notice I didn’t use the word control) my ED.

2 years later, I have reached my goal weight and no longer believe this disease was going to kill me. Though a lot of hard work and many ups and downs I now believe that I can live a life filled with love, happiness and the ability to be there for those people that I loved. I no longer feel that this disease will kill me.

My professional support system has continued the lessons I learned at the treatment facility. They have helped me to spot the cognitive distortions and challenge them with other more positive thoughts. They have helped me to continue the progress and the lessons I learned at the treatment facility. I am the one that still had to do the hard work; but at times I fought against it with all my might.

I have learned that I am worth fighting for. I don’t have to let this disease control me, but rather that I could manage it. I now have the ability to know when it is me or the ED talking. I learned that I will always have to be aware of my triggers which always set off my ED. I have learned how to manage my triggers about 75% of the time. I am human, so I still have moments where those triggers overwhelm me. This is where I have learned to reach out to them; that I am NOT a burden to them when I reach out during the times I am struggling during the days I am not seeing them. They have been kind, compassionate and gentle. Which for me are traits I am not used to having shown to me.

I am now genuinely happy some of the time. My ED no longer runs my life most of the time. I can show myself and are worthy of the same compassion and understanding that I receive from my support team. I no longer feel as though this disease is all I have. I don’t need to be defined by a number on the scale; that there is so much more to me. I have a bright future. I embrace the future, though at times with trepidation, and realize that I am NOT my past. I now try very hard to not ‘fortune tell’ but rather to use my past as nothing more than a history book and NOT a crystal ball!

I will be the first to tell you all that this past 2 years has been difficult and at times seems impossible to keep on track. But for me, it is has been well worth it, in spite of the pain I have gone through to get here. I know that the pain won’t last forever and I have the tools to cope with it. It may take me a day or 2 to work through this pain; but I can do it. I keep track of my progress for those days that I am sure I can’t go another step. I have found a purpose in my life which helps me on those ‘bad’ days. I also use my playlist to remind me that “I will survive”.

Be aware for the times that the ED is talking. One step at a time, no matter how small of a step it is. Life can be good again. But only you can do the hard work! My hope for all of you is that you can beat this awful persistent disease and live a happy, purposeful and productive life! You are NOT your disease!

FINAL THOUGHTS:

KEEP YOUR CHIN UP! Take baby steps towards your recovery, put one foot in front of the other and know, with a capital K, you CAN do it. Even if you can’t see it now, the world needs you!

Finding Purpose in Your Life

As persons with ED, a lot of us realize that we feel as though we have no purpose in our lives…nothing we can see that defines us as unique individuals except our ED. We feel lost and adrift in the huge sea of humanity. We have little if any self-confidence and no idea where to turn or who to turn to. All of our emotions feel overwhelming and out of control. So is it any surprise we feel like we have no sense of purpose. Who am I? What good am I? How can anyone care about me?

Finding a sense of purpose, however small can actually begin to answer these questions. But how do I do that, you are probably asking? Where do I start? After all, you probably feel so little and inconsequential and can’t see what you have to contribute to anyone.

Finding something to enable you to feel like you have a purpose will increase your sense of self-worth. An increased sense of self-worth helps us to be able to see more clearly that you can and do have a purpose. Everyone, including you, has a purpose and something to contribute . We can contribute without ever knowing we are. Smiling at a cashier or a simple thank you at the market can contribute to making them feel good. It definitely is a small thing, one we generally don’t think about, but it is true. Sometimes a smile or a ‘have a nice day’ can work wonders because we don’t ever know what their day has been like. Without ever knowing you have contributed something to someone, you have.

No one is saying your purpose has to be as huge as saving the world or creating world peace. Again, I say, start small; take baby steps. By setting a purpose for each day, not matter how small, the bigger purpose you want will come. Just getting up every morning with the idea of today is a new day is actually a purpose. You got up for whatever reason and that was on purpose. Your purpose for that moment was to get up and maybe make or straighten your bed up. As your recovery lengthens and strengthens you may come up with other things that you find give you a sense of purpose. Remember a sense of purpose is simply why you are here at this moment.

For far too long, I questioned what is my purpose in this life. I was at a loss to be able to tell anyone the answer to that question. After all, I felt as though I had nothing to contribute that was worth anything. I was adrift in my own head with the anorexia running through my head like an out of control freight train. I could see nothing good about myself. I tuned out anything good because I didn’t feel I deserved to feel good and was sure no one wanted to hear anything I might think or have to say. I sat and made vision boards expressing every bit of anger, confusion and self-loathing I felt. Along the way, on the few and far between days when I actually had a glimmer of hope, I was able to make some vision boards that expressed my hope for recovery. I brought some of the positive boards with me when I went into inpatient treatment. I shared them with my therapist who encouraged me to share them with the other clients. The reaction was very positive, so my sense of purpose began to grow as I realized I could encourage women who suffered from eating disorders, some of their disorders which were different from mine. But the thoughts, fears, emotions are the same no matter what variation of this disease you may have.

When I got home after 2 1/2 months my sense of purpose was to allow my creativity in this area to flourish. As my collection of boards grew, my creativity grew. So did my sense of purpose. I began to put together a book on DBT for Teens. Those who I have shared it with encouraged me to keep going. From that encouragement came the idea to start a blog. I gave it thought for over a year wondering if anyone truly could benefit from anything I had to say. I finally decided to take the plunge and do it. When I began to write these blogs to share with you I realized that for now this is my purpose. I will never know if anything I say in the blogs I write will help someone, though I hope it does. For now that is my purpose. Next year I may have a totally different purpose, who knows? But for now I feel a real sense of purpose.

Finding your sense of purpose takes time. Only you can decide what to do and where to begin on this quest which I believe helps a great deal towards beating this disease we suffer from. Step by step you can find it. Start small and don’t let anything or anyone get in your way. You DO have a purpose . For those of you reading this blog that have small kids and/or a partner you love, your purpose for now may simply be to get better. Your sense of purpose can and probably will change over time as you become physically and mentally healthier. That is okay. And in my opinion, that is the way it is supposed to be. None of us is the same today as we were last year. We change! And with those changes can come a new purpose in our lives. No need to let this overwhelm you, start small in seeking a purpose for your life. The growth you go through will enable your sense of purpose to grow along with you. Embrace finding a sense of purpose rather than being afraid of it. Remember, there is no right or wrong when it comes to finding a positive sense of purpose.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

KEEP YOUR CHIN UP! Take baby steps towards your recovery, put one foot in front of the other and know, with a capital K, you CAN do it. Even if you can’t see it now, the world needs you!

Words are Powerful

I have come to realize and understand how important the words we say to our self are. The words we say stick in our brains and further allow us to beat ourself up. Words have more power than we understand and are so very powerful to our minds. Some words just by their very nature are judgmental. When we use negative judgmental words on ourself we are immediately telling ourself we did something “bad”. For anyone who grew up being constantly criticized we know this all too well. Some of use grew up hearing on a regular basis that we are stupid, ugly, too thin, too fat, cubby, crazy, everything is our fault, we should have, etc., etc., etc. These words become deeply embedded in our mind and very powerful. Thus we are sure that there is truth to what we heard over and over, even if we are not aware of the message. Until we realize that the words we have heard repeatedly that those words are NOT true, we live our lives as though they are a reality. This is actually called cognitive distortion. Let’s take the power out of those words.

Every time we use the word ‘should’ we are actually making a judgment about ourself and unfortunately for most of us, that judgement falls on the negative side of things. Especially when we fail to be able to follow through in the manner we think we ‘should’. I found, for me, the simple act of changing the word ‘should’ to the word ‘could’ removes a lot of the judgements I make about me. Instead of saying to myself “I should have done it this way”, I try to check myself and change it to “I could have done it this way”. This removes the negative judgement that I didn’t live up to my own expectations and instead shows my mind that I had and still do have options. And next time I could do it another way.

Take the word ‘control’. This word by its very meaning to our minds means we have some influence as to what or who we are dealing with. This is not always true. We cannot control other people, their words or their actions. When we fail to be able to do what our mind tells us what we should (there’s that word ‘should’ again) be able to do, that we can force the situation to be what we want, we then use that thought as a reason the beat ourselves up. The simple fact is we have no influence on other people or situations. Changing the word ‘control’ to ‘manage’ helps us to realize we can manage the person or situation by how we react to it.

By challenging the words we use, we can take the power out of all the negative thoughts we use on ourself. This is not an easy thing to do. It takes time along with many trials and errors. My suggestion is to make a list of words that contain negative judgements against ourself. Next put another word(s) next to it that is a kinder, gentler word(s) or phrase we could use in its place. If you are unable to think of a new word(s) ask your support team, either professional or friends and family, who can come up with ideas. There is a Change My Words template under the template section. Feel free to use it or to just use it as ideas for making your own. Use a spiral notebook to do this is you aren’t feeling creative.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

KEEP YOUR CHIN UP! Take baby steps towards your recovery, put one foot in front of the other and know, with a capital K, you CAN do it. Even if you can’t see it now, the world needs you!

How do I get through today?

This blog is going to be longer than most of my blogs. By the very nature of humans, not even considering our ED, we all have bad days, complete with wondering how it can be gotten through.

Even though I have been working very hard towards recovery, I, like you, have what in my mind are very bad days. I feel as though it is all I can do just to put one foot in front of another. I am quite sure that each of us battling this disease have days like this. No matter how well we may be doing towards our recovery, these days can feel so very overwhelming. We can feel so lost in our emotions, we can’t even begin to see the light, and may not be able to believe there is a light, much less how to handle these intense feelings and emotions. If we have been in recovery for any length of time and feel as though we have managed our ED well, we still have days like this. For me, they seem exceptionally brutal since I felt as though I have dealt with all of this bs. We may even be afraid to turn to our support system because we have been doing well and we feel as though we will let them down. We most likely feel as though we have let ourselves down; that “I will never ever recover”, or even “what’s wrong with me, why can’t I ‘get’ this”? Old thinking is hard to let go of, especially when we are having a bad day. Those old thoughts seem to pop up when we least expect them. Those thoughts helped us in a way that once upon a time we believed served and protected us in some way. I wish I had a magic wand to make all of these feelings and emotions just disappear; but it doesn’t work that way, and we all know this. The fear can be so severe that we just can’t think of what to do to help ourselves.

So what do we do on days like this? First and foremost, DON’T BEAT YOURSELF UP! I understand that this is much more difficult than it sounds. Sometimes hearing this from someone is enough, and sometimes we can’t ’hear’ those words and we continue to still berate ourselves, feeling like a miserable failure. I, just like the rest of you, at times, struggle with this. At times like this, my first go-to step is to reach out to my professional support. These persons will not be judgmental but rather understanding of our fears. At times, they can give you a way to channel your thinking into another thought that you are able to use to stop beating yourself up. You are not a terrible person but just a person who is having a bad day.

When the thoughts become dangerous is when we are not able to sit with our feelings and are contemplating an old behavior that leads to self-harm of one form or another. At this time, I cannot stress enough that this is when it is imperative; that is, you ABSOLUTELY NEED TO REACH OUT to your professional team. This may also be very difficult since many of us feel as though we are ‘a burden’ and that we are a phony because we have been doing well. Those are feelings that are a cognitive distortion. We are not a burden! Our professional team, especially those who have experience in treating ED, are well aware that there are going to be those days, thoughts, and feelings. They will be able to help you process the feelings you may be having before the slip turns into a slide.

Let’s look at the words ‘never’ or ‘ever’. Let’s challenge them because in reality, we know they are NOT true and are just cognitive distortions. The very word ‘never’ or ‘ever’ means for the rest of your life. Are you quite sure that you will never, ever recover? Do you really believe this is true? Can you allow yourself to believe that this feeling is only temporary and that possibly tomorrow or sometime in the near future, you will be able to pick yourself back up and get back on the horse? We have all been told repeatedly, and we might want to try to remember that RECOVERY IS NOT LINEAR. If this is a hard concept for us to grasp at this time, after all, most of us are perfectionists, and we detest feelings that cause us to think we have failed…know you have not failed…failure would be to give up totally and to completely stop trying. If you are reading this blog, know that I believe you haven’t given up.

Understand that everyone, including me, has days that we want to throw in the towel. When I was in treatment at the residential facility, I learned that all people have bad days. The trick here is to remember that. This is something that we don’t always realize. But it is really, really true. We just do not see it. All humans have days that they are not feeling 100%, no matter how ‘put together’ they seem to be. No bad days mean you are a robot without emotions, feelings, or thoughts that are unpleasant! Sitting with these fears is what you might try. I know they feel as though they will never go away, but they will. Believe it or not, if we “don’t feed our emotions,” they usually disappear in 90 seconds. It seems impossible to believe that, but the trick here and the key takeaway is “don’t feed the emotions.”

These days are the days when I have to take it back to the beginning! I force myself to do the very small things that I did at the very start of my recovery journey that helped me out. I use the small things since big things feel impossible. I am here to tell you that even doing this can feel so very hard. My small things are focused around self-care. Brush your hair, wash your face, brush your teeth, or just make your bed, if those are things you struggled with at the beginning of your journey. Then give yourself credit for being able to do this. “ I did it” goes a long way to letting your brain know you are NOT a failure, that you are making progress in spite of your negative emotions.

If you keep a progress list, read it again to remind yourself that you have made progress. If you keep a gratitude journal or any type of writing and keep track of your daily wins, reread them. Works the same way.

Yoga/Tai Chi or gentle stretching helps to reset your vagus nerve in your brain. The vagus nerve is one of the most important nerves in your body. It’s the longest cranial nerve and plays a huge role in the parasympathetic nervous system, which controls rest, digestion, and relaxation. When we are upset, there are physical changes our mind and brain go through. The vagus nerve supports breathing since our breathing tends to become ‘goofy’. It does this by affecting the muscles involved in breathing, helping regulate the diaphragm. This is the area of our mind that connects the gut and brain. The vagus nerve is a key part of the gut-brain process, influencing mood, mental health, and even conditions like anxiety and depression. To me, the most important (though they are all important reasons) reason to resetting the vagus nerve is because it triggers the relaxation response. Stimulating the vagus nerve (through deep breathing, cold exposure, or meditation) can promote relaxation and reduce stress. In short, it’s like the body’s superhighway for relaxation and balance—without it, we’d be stuck in a constant state of stress.

The idea of meditation (see the blog on meditation) feels at times impossible, especially when we are in distress. Try it! If you cannot concentrate on something, a pleasant event for you or a mantra, don’t panic. When you catch your mind drifting back to your distress, just gently and non-judgmentally, bring it back. Try this for whatever time you are able. Start with the goal of a small amount of time, even as small as one minute. Extend this time if and when you are able.

Other ideas, tips, and tricks are to use a breathing technique of your choice. You can also use distraction techniques where you do something, anything positive that takes your mind (even if it is a very short time) off of your negative thoughts. When they return, and they probably will if you are having a bad day, repeat any of these techniques over and over again. If you have access to some place that you consider nature, go there (if possible) and use one of the ideas listed above. Listen to POSITIVE, calming music is another way to help yourself. Maybe even try a new type of music that is calming, such as classical, close your eyes as let your mind find pictures that go with whatever you imagine or just sit quietly and ‘feel’ the music. Maybe songs that you liked when you were younger and in a better place can be helpful. Journal or write out your emotions, thoughts, feelings, and fears. Sometimes just getting them out in any form can be beneficial in lessening them. You don’t have to be an able to do these things perfectly!

Give yourself credit for doing any of the above techniques or any of the techniques that are in your toolbox. Remember, this tells your brain you are making progress, even if it is small, sometimes even tiny ways.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

KEEP YOUR CHIN UP! Take baby steps towards your recovery, put one foot in front of the other, and know, with a capital K, you CAN do it. Even if you can’t see it now, the world needs you!

I know I am making progress because…

Keeping track of the progress we have made is imperative to the success of our recovery. We need to be able to recognize we are progressing, no matter how small the progress is. Some of our progress will show up under the Today’s Wins if you are keeping a gratitude journal. No matter whether you keep a gratitude journal or you don’t, having our progress in black and white is a great reminder of how far we have come.

My ‘I am making progress because’ list is something I add to whenever I feel the need to remind myself of the progress of my recovery. Another benefit to keeping track is that you can give it to your professional support team easily. This lets them see what you are making progress in. I myself, put each time I add to it a different color so I can see the growth.

I have put out a sample of my progress report to myself. Several templates for this type of list are out under the templates blog section. You can either print them (and there are several different templates) out there, or just use them to design your own. You don’t have to use a “pretty” page; it can just be written done in a spiral notebook. It is up to you.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

KEEP Y0UR CHIN UP! Take baby steps towards your recovery, put one foot in front of the other and know, with a capital K, you CAN do it. Even if you can’t see it now, the world needs you!