Recovering From An Eating Disorder

Summary

Harriet shares her journey with an eating disorder, starting from childhood. At 17, she's spent years in hospitals and recovery centers, often lying about her condition. Despite losing much of her life to the disorder, she's determined to turn her life around, seeking help and support to discover her true self. Harriet hopes her story will inspire compassion and give a voice to others struggling with eating disorders, emphasizing that recovery is possible and everyone is enough.

Takeaways

• 👶 Harriet recalls having a negative body image since early childhood, influenced by her father's comments about her weight.
• 🍳 At age five, Harriet learned about calories and began to develop unhealthy eating habits.
• 🏃‍♀️ Harriet's mother's obsessive dieting and exercising influenced her to start restricting food intake at a young age.
• 🔢 At 10 years old, Harriet started to feel self-conscious about her weight, leading to severe eating restrictions.
• 🏥 By 13, Harriet's eating disorder was severe enough to require hospitalization.
• 🏋️‍♀️ Harriet's freshman year of high school was marked by extreme exercise, calorie counting, purging, and hospital stays.
• 💔 At 17, Harriet has spent three years in and out of hospitals and recovery centers, struggling with her eating disorder.
• 🗣️ Harriet lied to loved ones, becoming unrecognizable in her efforts to hide her disorder.
• 🌟 Harriet is determined to turn her life around, seeking help and support to discover her true self.
• 🌈 Harriet's ultimate goal is happiness and to feel proud of herself by the end of the year.
• 💌 Harriet hopes her story will inspire compassion and understanding for those struggling with eating disorders.

Q & A

What was Harriet's earliest memory related to her body image?

Harriet's earliest memory related to her body image was when she was around three years old, and her father told her he couldn't pick her up because she was too heavy.

At what age did Harriet learn about calories?

Harriet learned about calories at the age of five.

What impact did Harriet's mother's behavior have on her?

Harriet's mother's obsessive dieting and exercising led Harriet to stop eating breakfast and start drinking weight loss shakes at the age of nine.

When did Harriet start feeling self-conscious about her weight?

Harriet started feeling self-conscious about her weight when she was about ten years old.

What was the connection Harriet made between eating less and losing weight?

Harriet made the connection between eating less and losing weight around the time she turned 13.

What extreme behaviors did Harriet engage in during her freshman year of high school?

During her freshman year of high school, Harriet started exercising, counting calories, purging, and restricting her eating to the point of hospitalization.

How old is Harriet now and what has her life been like for the past three years?

Harriet is now 17 years old and has spent the last three years in and out of hospitals and recovery centers.

What did Harriet sacrifice in order to protect her eating disorder?

Harriet sacrificed her strongest morals to protect her eating disorder.

What is Harriet's main motivation for wanting to change?

Harriet's main motivation for wanting to change is to accept the help, support, and love that surrounds her every day.

What does Harriet want to be when she grows up?

Harriet wants to be happy when she grows up.

What message does Harriet have for people who have eating disorders?

Harriet hopes that people who have eating disorders will feel like they have a voice, and that they will feel less guilty, alone, and hopeless.

What does Harriet believe about the choice to have an eating disorder and the choice to overcome it?

Harriet believes that having an eating disorder may not be a choice, but overcoming it is a choice she and others can make.

Outlines

00:00

🌱 Overcoming Adversity

Harriet shares her journey of hope, detailing her struggles with a negative body image and eating disorder from a young age. She recalls her father's comment on her weight at three years old, learning about calories at five, and starting a weight loss regimen at nine. By 10, she was self-conscious about her weight, and by 13, she was restricting her eating severely. Her disorder escalated to hospitalization by high school, and she spent her teenage years in and out of medical facilities. Despite lying to loved ones and feeling unrecognizable, she remains determined to change and find her true self. Harriet aspires to be happy and to turn her life around, hoping her story can inspire compassion and empowerment in others struggling with eating disorders.

Keywords

💡Body Image

Body image refers to a person's perception of their own body, including its attractiveness and how it compares to societal standards. In Harriet's story, she recalls having a negative body image from a young age, which is a central theme in the video. Her father's comment about her weight when she was three years old is a poignant example of how early these perceptions can form.

💡Calorie

A calorie is a unit of energy that can be either obtained from food and drink or used by the body to perform actions. In the context of Harriet's story, learning about calories at a young age led her to develop unhealthy eating habits, such as skipping breakfast and consuming only weight loss shakes.

💡Dieting

Dieting is the practice of controlling one's food intake to lose weight or maintain a certain body weight. Harriet's mother's obsessive dieting behavior influenced her to start dieting at a very young age, which is a common risk factor for the development of eating disorders.

💡Eating Disorder

An eating disorder is a mental health condition characterized by abnormal eating habits that negatively impact a person's physical and emotional health. Harriet's journey is a testament to the struggles of living with an eating disorder, which she developed unknowingly and later recognized as a serious condition.

💡Restriction

Restriction in the context of eating disorders refers to the act of limiting food intake to an unhealthy extent. Harriet mentions restricting her eating severely, which is a common behavior among individuals with eating disorders as a way to control weight.

💡Hospitalization

Hospitalization refers to the act of being admitted to a hospital for medical treatment. Harriet's story includes multiple hospitalizations due to the severity of her eating disorder, highlighting the physical toll such conditions can take.

💡Recovery

Recovery in this context means the process of healing or regaining health after an illness or a traumatic event. Harriet has spent years in and out of recovery centers, indicating the long and challenging road to recovery from an eating disorder.

💡Compassion

Compassion is the feeling of empathy and understanding towards the suffering of others. Harriet hopes that her story will inspire compassion in those who do not experience eating disorders, emphasizing the need for support and understanding.

💡Voice

Having a voice in this context means being heard and acknowledged. Harriet wants people with eating disorders to feel like they have a voice, indicating the importance of representation and the validation of their experiences.

💡Guilt

Guilt is a feeling of remorse or responsibility for some offense, crime, or wrong. Harriet mentions feeling guilty, which is a common emotion experienced by individuals with eating disorders, often due to the misconception that their condition is a personal failure.

💡Self-Acceptance

Self-acceptance is the process of embracing oneself, including one's flaws and imperfections. Harriet's desire to accept help and support is part of her journey towards self-acceptance, which is crucial for overcoming an eating disorder.

💡Strength

Strength in Harriet's story is not just physical but also emotional and psychological. She emphasizes that she and others are strong enough to overcome their eating disorders, suggesting that inner strength is key to recovery.

💡Enough

Feeling 'enough' means having a sense of self-worth and adequacy. Harriet's repeated affirmation that she is 'enough' is a powerful message of self-affirmation and a reminder that self-worth is not determined by external factors like body weight.

Highlights

Harriet shares her hope to turn her struggles into something good.

Harriet recalls her negative body image starting at a very young age.

At age five, Harriet learned about calories and began dieting.

Influenced by her mother's obsessive dieting, Harriet stopped eating breakfast at age nine.

Harriet's self-consciousness about her weight began around age 10.

At 11, Harriet started severely restricting her eating.

Harriet made the connection between eating less and losing weight at 13.

By high school, Harriet was exercising, counting calories, purging, and restricting to the point of hospitalization.

Harriet has spent the last three years in and out of hospitals and recovery centers.

Despite being hospitalized, Harriet continued to learn ways to hide her disorder.

Harriet lied to loved ones and became unrecognizable in her struggle.

She sacrificed her morals to protect her eating disorder.

Harriet missed out on much of her own life due to her disorder.

Harriet doesn't know who she is without her eating disorder.

Harriet is motivated to make changes and discover her true self.

Harriet's goal is to turn her life around and feel proud of herself.

Harriet hopes her story will resonate with others and inspire compassion.

Harriet encourages those with eating disorders to feel they have a voice and are not alone.

Harriet believes that having an eating disorder is not a choice, but overcoming it is.

Harriet affirms that she, and everyone, is strong and beautiful enough to overcome their struggles.

Harriet concludes with a powerful statement of self-worth and acceptance.

Transcripts

- [Voiceover] My name is Harriet,

and I have hope that all the bad things I've been through

can be turned into something good.

That's why I want to make this video

and tell you my story.

I remember having a negative body image

for as long as I've had memories.

When I was around three years old,

I clearly recall my father picking up another little girl

and saying that he couldn't pick me up anymore

because I was too heavy.

I learned what a calorie was at age five.

I grew up watching my mother diet and exercise obsessively,

which led me to stop eating breakfast

and start only drinking weight loss shakes at age nine.

When I was about 10 years old,

I started to feel self-conscious about my weight.

By 11, I was restricting my eating severely,

although I didn't really know what I was doing.

I didn't yet know that I was developing an eating disorder.

I made the connection between eating less and losing weight

around the time I turned 13.

And by my freshman year of high school,

I'd started exercising, counting calories, purging,

and restricting to the point of hospitalization.

Now I'm 17, and I've spent the last three years of my life

in and out of hospitals and recovery centers,

because I've kept convincing everyone else around me

that I was well enough to be home,

even when I was really just learning more tricks

to avoid getting caught.

I lied to the people I loved most,

and became someone completely unrecognizable.

I sacrificed my strongest morals

to protect something that was only hurting me

and taking everything from me.

In doing so, I've missed out on so much

of my own life.

I don't know who I am without my eating disorder.

The one thing I know is what keeps me fighting.

I want to be here.

I wanna be able to accept the help, support and love

that surrounds me every single day.

I am motivated to finally make the changes

I know I need to make to discover who I really am.

When people ask me what I want to be when I grow up,

I tell them that I want to be happy.

My goal is to make this year the year I turn my life around.

I want to look back on this year

and feel proud of myself.

My name is Harriet, and I have hope.

I hope that people who don't know what it's like

to have an eating disorder will have compassion

for those who are struggling.

I hope that people who do have eating disorders

will feel like they have a voice,

and that they will feel less guilty, alone, and hopeless.

If my story resonates with even one single person,

I will feel like my entire journey has been worthwhile.

Having an eating disorder may not be a choice,

but you can choose to beat this.

I can beat this.

You are strong enough.

I am strong enough.

You are beautiful enough.

And I am beautiful enough.

You are enough.

My name is Harriet,

and I am enough.