It's time for me to recover. Half way. Yeah... or maybe this will just go down in history as the shittiest attempt at recovery ever, but here's the deal: I want my mind to be healthy. I want to recover that part of me. I'm taking my mind back from Ana--I'm not going to let her tell me to hate myself anymore. If I keep on listening to Ana I might just go ahead and kill myself before I even graduate. She's put me right in this hole, she's made me give up on my friends, my family, my dreams, myself. There's no getting around it--if you listen to Ana, she will ruin you. And I think she's ruined me, most of me, but that tiny sliver of self I can still see through these blurry hateful eyes is strong, and that part of me is willing to fight that stupid bitch off. My eyes aren't cloudy anymore, oh certainly not.
I am not thin enough, but I am not ugly, I am not a monster, I am not disgusting and frankly if I met myself I would want to be my friend. The reason I don't have many friends is because of the shyness caused from self-hatred, caused from Ana's influence in my brain. She tells me not to trust anyone and to be self-conscious when I talk. The only thing actually wrong with me is my preoccupation with what I perceive as being wrong with me. I need to chill the fuck out. Because I seriously don't know of a single person that dislikes me, aside from maybe a few lame kids who think they're too cool for me. And a whole lot of people that have no opinion of me whatsoever, because I'm too shy to let myself make an impression. Which is so not a big deal at all! Because if I let myself relate to people I would have more friends. I have to believe that, I have to believe that I'm an alright person. A good person, even. It's so hard for me to believe but every single day that I think something negative about myself that's unwarranted I'm going to give myself a good talking to.
It's so much easier to hate myself. While writing that last paragraph I decided to give up on this whole "recovery" thing like twice, because it's so hard to even let myself believe for a second that I may be a pleasant, virtuous, nice-looking? (one day?) person. It's easier to lie in bed and cry than it is to text someone to hang out. Buuuuuuut...
I refuse to give up my eating disorder. I do, however, intend to perfect it. It makes sense, right? I want to be happy. I want to be strong. I want to be beautiful. I have no desire to be "perfect" but all of this does extend from this concept. So how is it "perfect" to be depressed? And yeah, isn't the whole point of the eating disorder to reach our personal ideals of perfection? Well this life I'm living is by no means perfect. Hating yourself isn't perfection. Your means (hating yourself) can't contradict your desired ends (happiness) because that's like a total paradox; it'll never get you anywhere because it just logically does not make sense. Do you see what I'm saying here? I'm afraid I've lost all ability to explain myself, but I hope my point is coming across somewhat clear. Basically, the "perfect" eating disorder would be one where you restrict ad lose weight rapidly and constantly but you are HAPPY. You are beautiful on the inside as you seek to make yourself more beautiful on the outside. That's the perfection I will aim for now. I won't let myself be depressed anymore. I'm no longer allowed to hate myself. I don't find myself particularly attractive but I'm not the fucking ogre I once led myself to believe I was, and anyway there are more important things about my person than how I look.
(I realize that the one bit of faulty logic in my plan is that starving has detrimental health-related effects, the main one being that it will physically affect your brain in the way that makes you depressed. Well, supposedly. I, however, have not found that starving actually makes me depressed (binging does.) so I'm still completely hold the belief that I can starve and be happy about it, like I used to be.)
Conclusion? Restrict, but don't hate myself. Don't call myself ugly. Don't call myself worthless. Stop saying "I am fat" and replace it with "I'm not thin enough, yet, but I will be." Still not super-positive, but it's better. Turn this ED into an eccentricity rather than a disease. Don't call myself a monster. Stop using these negative thoughts as a security blanket. Don't run to the scale every time sometime goes wrong in my life. Don't let Ana kill me anymore. I know we've had some good times, girl, but I just don't trust you anymore.
I hope you do recover your mind =) It's not my time yet personally but if you feel it's yours then go for it! You can totally do it.
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful, V! You certainly deserve to take back your mind. You are a wonderful person, and though it will take time for you to accept that, it will be worth it. I think you're right that people don't dislike you, they just don't know you because you hold yourself back. Good luck and congratulations!
ReplyDeleteOh...wow...I'm somewhat speechless over here, which is quite odd for me. Very rare.
ReplyDeleteI'm fairly certain I was supposed to find your blog...these last few entries specifically. I've been struggling lately with such self-loathing and self-deprecation that it's actually taking *away* from my ability to continue on in my quest to lose. The depression Ana has injected into my life has given way to what feels like constant binge/purge behavior and a default state of hatred...and I KNOW I'm better than that, god damn it!! I am a GOOD person. I am kind and intelligent and artistic and creative and an amazing mom and a great girlfriend and I'm even a little bit pretty some days. I've been feeling so shitty lately that I've allowed myself to sink down into that same hole you mentioned above... I feel like I haven't had the strength of get up and fight it, and it's defeating me. Slowly killing me. This is NOT the way it's supposed to be.
Reading your words is like reaching out into the void of cyberspace and finding a hand that's been ready and waiting to grasp my own; I've just been wallowing in this shit and feeling so alone in it. It only gets worse and worse and that *strong* ME that exists behind all of Ana's illusions has been suffocated for so long that she's nearly given up...I won't let it happen. You've given me the strength to see that tonight.
I could not have asked for a better page to find tonight...I know I'm just a random stranger, but you have just helped me...so much. Thank you.
Dear You,
ReplyDeleteto be quite frank, and honest, and slightly embarrassed, I am not enTIRELY sure what you just said.
Is it OK to say that I'll support whatever it is?
I guess it isn't, because that means that I don't care enough to actually scroll all the way back up the page.
It isn't true! I suh-wear!
I do remember reading something about brain recovery, and being good (and such) enough to have friends. And then something about shyness and self-hatred induced by the enigma that is Anorexia.
Guess I did pay some attention, after all.
But can you not see all of the efforts I am going to, in the name of Internet Buddydom? I know that friendships over the internet are equivalent of being friends with a Number 8 ball; thus the Internet Buddydom..
Hang on, I'm reading your blog. I know how you feel, I know what you like... That means that I know you very well. If not as well as your friends or family, then nearly.
Hmm, I feel enlightened and epiphanified!
love et bisous,
me
i now have much to think about...
ReplyDeletethank you.
and i hope you figure out how to attain what you want - a perfected "disorder", one without self-hatred. i don't know if this is entirely possible, but i have hope you can find this place!
laur.