Wow, does this post resonate with me!! I recently was diagnosed as having an eating disorder. I’ve carried it around with me for years, living in denial and never realized how much it was devastating me. The big realization through having an ED is that I also suffer from body dysmorphic disorder. It’s been a large part of my therapy conversations and I’ve learned a few good tricks that are really helping me to overcome it. I thought I’d share in case they could help you too.

A mantra that my therapist taught me that I repeat to myself when I’m having a particularly bad day is “The body is for doing not viewing.” It reminds me to pay attention to all the wonderful things my body can do – and that it’s about so much more than how it looks.

Another realization I’ve had is that I compare myself WAY too much to other people. My whole life, it’s been my only way to know whether I’m good (i.e., I’m better than that person so I must be doing good) or bad (i.e, she is skinnier than me, I need to go on a diet). My therapist brought up the damage this was doing and said “There’s no such thing as perfection. There is always going to be someone better than you, so if that’s your measuring stick, how will you ever be good enough??” That really hit me. I realized I could spend my whole life trying to reach an unattainable goal and hating myself the whole time for “failing” or I could just let go. Every time I find myself comparing now, I interrupt the thought and say one positive thing about myself instead. It’s a loooong road, but every journey starts with one step. And, even a baby step counts as the first step 🙂