Spousal sabotage

i've had a rough couple of days. Not only has Mercury (my ruling planet) been retrograde (which wreaks havoc on us all) but my husband, usually the sweetest most supportive and loving person on Earth, has been vicious in his attacks on me with ED related commentary. Hitting below the belt, and hard. The first comment that hurt me terribly, was a stupid mistake. One that he should have never made - and as horribly as it was not to fly backwards in a self-destructive whirlwind - i can still recognize that it was a "dumb" moment. He blurted something out that he knows better than to do, and it should NEVER have popped up in his mind as an option of response.

But last night's comment was in anger and in pursuit of my pain and suffering. And he did it in a way that was damaging to everyone in our household, my children as well. And i don't know how to handle this. Without getting into excruitiating detail - i'll just say that he attacked me about my eating habits, on several levels, both while i was on the phone and in the presence of my children (who are 7&9 and don't know Mommy has an ED) and at the top of his lungs. Which, sadly, caused me to scream back and storm out of the house. Among the many things he yelled at me, the worst and most damaging was "You are not normal!" Really? Duh fucking ralph. But that was followed by "I am trying to teach you how to be normal." Well, last time i checked, that was my team's job. Cuz for the 15 yrs we've been together, you didn't even realize that i HAD an ED and have been active in it since i was 13. So...yeah, maybe my nutritionist/doctors are a better choice for the advice offers on recovery. But hey, thanks man.

shit.

Left the house. Went out with my friends - the ones who always lift me up when i'm on the floor - and tried to have a good evening. Came home, he was on the couch. No words exchanged - i went to bed. He slept on the couch. Came downstairs - still nothing. He left for work - nada.

What the hell. This sucks. I plan on making a family appt with my nutritionist for ASAP so that i may ask him to come. I don't understand the sudden hostility and the recent use of his "hitting below the belt" tactics. I wonder if others have gone thru this with spouses/friends/family. Any advice w/b much appreciato! xoxo

The New Year's Toast

Out for drinks one night, my friend who had bought me a shot of Patron, asked me what my resolution as for the new year. My response was/is "to be healthy both physically and mentally". And we cheered to this. A great goal, if i do say so myself. In past years it would have been something shallow or self-defeating in purpose. But this year, my goal is really truly to be strong and healthy and make choices that are logical and wise for me and my whole self.

Last year at this time, I was starting the new year with a fresh clean slate also. But it almost didn't seem real. It was as if I was going through a sort of trial period in a new lifestyle. More than a year in recovery now, I know how hard it really is. How many, many peaks and valleys there are to get through. I have learned that self forgiveness is a survival tool, not a frivolity. That may sound ridiculous to most, but to many of us afflicted with any addiction, but especially EDs, it is one of our greatest challenges. So, we just have to do it, over and over and over again...until it's more comfortable and a natural knee-jerk reaction to set-backs in our lives that we feel responsible for. We're good at accepting tons of responsibility, but not forgiving ourselves when we don't do as well as we'd hoped to. So that's something i'm really focusing on this year.

The other thing i am truly focused on fully is being alive in my moment and grateful for all my blessings. For me, this means looking in the mirror daily and rather than picking my self to pieces, smiling and thanking God for giving me a healthy, strong body. I come from a family with many physical issues. My mom died when she was only 8 yrs older than me now from Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and my father lives with Multiple Sclerosis for nearly 30 yrs now. I cannot take for granted the grace and blessing bestowed upon me for having a strong, well-functioning, healthy body and mind. This basic standard of life that many of us take for granted until it's no longer there...is something of a much larger importance than the size of my jeans or the number on the scale (although i have not even stepped foot on one for about a year now). Walking, breathing, laughing, crying, hugging, loving, holding my children, petting my dog...all these things are sooooooo much better and more important than the silly, vanity driven, emptiness that Eating Disorders create in our souls. Living in the moment and falling in LOVE with life and all the beauty inside of it and inside of ME is magical. And this kind of love propels me into the world of positivity and strength and purpose that I deserve. That we ALL deserve.

So the experimental year is done. This year it's sunk in. I'm in recovery. I'm healing. I'm not pretending anymore. That doesn't mean i won't slip. That doesn't mean i won't falter. But what it does mean is that i continue to evolve, grow and embrace my true self. And once the butterfly emerges from the cocoon, it can never go back to being a caterpillar. Nope. And thankfully, who'd want to? I love my new wings, i love my new life and i'm working really, really, REALLY hard to love my new body too.

So here's to us - and our good health...this year, and always! Cheers! <3

~*~*~TABLA RASA~*~*~

Focus, living in the moment, purpose, constantly becoming something new and improved, a work in progress, the continuation of my metamorphosis. my wings are still damp and fragile...but gaining in strength each day, each moment. Love has brought me me so many blessings and strength. It has lifted me up when i was too weak to do so myself. And although the journey is treacherous...the good days outnumber the bad now, and i feel momentum and power building.

You, who are my friends; You, who are my loves; You, who bathe me in comfort and white light...thank you so very much! So many of you have reached out to me, shared your stories, shared your lives....your real lives - not just your "blog" stories. The people i adore and admire, made of sweet flesh, warm smiles and inspiration.

The one universal thing that certainly ties us all together is that we are resilient! We are colorful and brave! We believe in running toward the prize with all of the power and confidence and strength we can muster, despite the inevitable obstacles before us. We help lift each other up, so that we may grab onto our own shining star and fly as HIGH as our imaginations will take us! And each and every one of us deserves NOTHING less. Accept nothing less. Live with no regrets!

So here's to us in 2010 and making exactly that happen. For you, and for me....for those we have loved and lost, this year and always, whose spirits continue to inspire us each day to be better human beings. May we be abundantly selfless, generous, loving and forgiving...not only to our spouses, friends, co-workers and children - but to ourselves.

Especially to ourselves. Let the love start there. Tabla Rasa, my friends.

Happy New Year! xoxo

frustration, despair, hope, repeat....<3

That seems to be the pattern.
Knowing there's a pattern is beneficial, eh?
Shows us "proof" that time is sometimes our best ally.
Good stuff going on this week.
Can't perform well unless i'm healthy.
So just gotta do it....one foot in front of the other.
Monday is clean slate day!

tabla erasa

it's monday. and i seem to have been having a pity party for a week. but after having taken account of all my blessings and including my new body that is healthy and disease free - albeit bigger than i am currently comfortable with...i've decided that today is a new day and a fresh start. So.....i'm having a healthy breakfast - going to follow my meal plan and write everything down today. After bkfst i'm taking my dog with me and going for a brisk walk in the beautiful sunshine! Then a shower and off to see my nutritionist, whom i miss, and with whom i shall discuss my plans and goals.

tomorrow i'm running a blood drive for my kid's school and community, so I have to finish doing as much prep for that is necessary the rest of today. All and all, i am feel fresh, renewed, re-committed and worthwhile of all the (self) love and work needed to get me to a safer, stronger, healthier place.

Carpe Diem! xoxo t

Hope is a four letter word

i planned out and used symptoms yesterday. i've actually used everyday for the past 5 days i think. i have been communicating with another woman from my group who is also in a bad place and i laughed that we are like the blind leading the blind. she's lost hope. i haven't lost hope. maybe i never had any. but i think i have. yeah, i totally have...and do at times. i guess i'm more in a lack of trust place - which is always my common theme. my nutritionist and i have settled on a calorie level that is supposed to help me stabilize - but i still don't want to do it. It's not fast enough for ED. ED wants to restrict until we can't stand the hunger any longer, and then B&P and restrict all over again. That's my cycle. Works well for me - my body starts eating away at itself quickly and the fluff just magically melts away. Not good, i know. Eating my muscle first, leaving me dizzy, dehydrated, stupid electrolyte levels, flirting with cardiac "situations". How is it that my comfort zone can be somewhere so dangerous? Seems similar to the definition of insanity, doesn't it?

Well, today i'm going to the NIN/Jane's Addiction show with my friends. They gave me a tix for my b-day. Supposed to be sunny. I'm worried about being the fattest one among all the skinny rockers there. Terrible that i find comfort in knowing that there are a lot of fat "goth" folks who will be there for NIN. Relieves the stress from my mind at the moment. At least it won't be so hot i have to wear shorts. Jeans it is....whew!

sorry this is dark - i hate putting up that side of me. i'd rather write/say/act all "shiny, happy, people holding hands" all the time. But that's not very realistic, nor is it healthy or helpful. so i'm trying to write the good, the bad and the ugly. so help me god.

Broken

i'm in a really bad place. i don't want to be - i'm doing all i can to try and be positive. but my body image and how i feel about being heavier is controlling the emotional reins in my soul at the moment. i feel angry. and tired. angry that i am so profoundly controlled by this disease. exhausted in a lifelong, 28 year battle of fighting it...fighting myself. wishing i could just be a "normal" girl, without weight issues, over-examination of myself, rational thoughts of body image and perhaps even a mind free and confident enough to believe i am worth so much MORE than what i look like. And though deep inside i do know that, there is always this threshold of belief...where self worth and value become muddled with self esteem and vanity.
i am sad. i am tired. i am angry. i am broken.
i have a beautiful, wonderful, abundant life and because of this stupid, horrible disease, i am unble to fully live it. and i'm just so tired of fighting. really. the outside world (meaning the ED free/addictionless masses) have no idea how exhausting it is inside our minds. What it is like to fight this demon day in and day out....happy when we defeat it, giddy when we follow it, sad when we listen to it, uncomfortable when we are without it. Its all so convoluted and gray and swirled into a muddled mess of emotion and self doubt and anger....that its hard to see the light sometimes. Is there any light? People claim there is, and i've felt fleeting moments of its clarity and calmness before - but its never lingered too long. i want an ED-ectomy.
and i hate summer, i've decided. and i look romantically back at last summer, when i was the sickest and the thinnest and wore bikinis and tiny little sundresses and felt so confident and sexy - even though i could blink my eyelashes and pass out from exertion. why is that so romantic? why do i want to live that way again? it's so empowering, that's why. but why does it have to be a choice? why isn't it easier to choosy healthy me over sick me? it should be easy, no? it would be an easy choice for a non-diseased person. and it's easy to encourage those around us who are like me. yeah....i should really change the name of the blog to narcissistic masochist. Ha! Say that ten times fast.