So. Today I am bringing my mom to my appointment with my therapist. My mom needs a lot more education on eating disorders. I know she wants to help me as much as she can but she just doesn't know how to- she feels helpless (something I think is common among parents). Often I have a hard to talking to her because of the constant worry of being judged or not taken seriously. Anyway my therapist said that she would love to help educate my mom and help her identify the separation of the ED from the person. I am really optimistic about this and hoping that this will help open up the lines of communication between us.
There is also something else that I have to talk to my mom about during the appointment, something I've been wanting to talk about for a very long time now. I've been carrying around a secret for about 3 years about something - not so great - that happened to me when I was 17. Actually it wasn't until about a month ago that I realized the significance of this event. I've kinda pushed it out of my mind for the past few years and now it is really surfacing. I am now understanding that finally letting go of this secret will be very therapeutic and freeing. I am so scared though- I feel like my mom tends to minimize things that are important to me sometimes. I also think it is human nature to minimize terrible things that happen to loved ones... No one likes accepting those kinds of things.
On the other hand, I feel like this will also help open up our lines of communication and help me be able to talk about more things with her. I am really, really hoping that we can strengthen our relationship as mom and daughter- a relationship that I have been missing for the past 7 years.
Anyway I don't know if I'm ready just yet to talk about this event on my blog- maybe some time soon though.
So ya... WISH ME LUCK!
Stay strong, stay YOU
Colette xo
Good luck to you Colette! I know that I have found family therapy both disastrous and very helpful. A lot of parents aren't educated to the fullest about what an eating disorder is, but in an effort to want their child better, are more than willing to obtain knowledge in anyway possible! Just be sure that your mom understands that an eating disorder isn't a method of dieting, and in fact has nothing to do with food content, but to do with control and other mental things. I wish you so much luck and I am so happy for you in this step in the right direction! I know I've just started commenting, but I would truly love to be there for you. I plan on continuing to read and see you progress through a wonderful recovery! You deserve to be happy :-)!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cara! And yes I'm really trying to get my mom educated... I find that the more she understands the disease, the more willing I am to open up and talk to her about it. Thank you so much for your support!
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