It Means.....

Having a loved one with an eating disorder changes you.

Having a loved one with an eating disorder means fighting a battle few understand.

It means going into their room during the night to make sure they are still breathing.

It means fighting for your child’s life while everyone around you has no clue what you are dealing with.

It means checking for self-harm marks, searching bedrooms for self-harm tools, and hoping against hope that they will survive the day.

It means canceled plans and sleepless nights.

It means fighting the second deadliest mental illness and doing everything in your power to make sure your child celebrates their birthday.

It means loss of friendships and strained family relationships.

It means watching your child being destroyed by something you can’t fix, and very few doctors understand.

It means trying to get your loved one the best help possible with limited access to care.

It means paying out of pocket for care because your insurance doesn’t cover treatment.

It means taking on insurance companies.

It means educating doctors, therapists, and psychiatrists.

It means challenging every belief you have about food, body image, and exercise.

It means sitting in a room full of medical professionals and realizing you are the most educated person in the room on the illness of your loved one.

It means pretending everything is okay because you don’t have the strength to listen to people's well-intentioned advice.

It means hoping they don’t pass out while they aren’t in your presence.

Having a loved one with an eating disorder means suicide is a reality.

AND

Having a loved one with an eating disorder means finding your tribe. Your no matter what friends.

It means finding a community that will fight just as hard for your child’s life as they would their own.

It means realizing what is truly important and that none of it is the way you look or what you weigh.

It means being surrounded by others who have gone before you that willingly hold your hand, build you up when you are down, and offer strength.

It means being offered hope amid all the darkness.

It means being surrounded by a group of women that have buried their babies and find the strength to make sure another mom doesn’t have to experience the same loss. It teaches you humility because they offer you grace.

Having a loved one battle an eating disorder changes you AND some of those changes are good.

© 2021 | Kristin Moss Bahr | All Rights Reserved

February 27, 2021 original post via Facebook