I “hide” them on Facebook and “mute” them on Instagram. So, I have started taking action when I come across before and after posts. This type of growth does not show up in a before and after photograph. It requires learning to love and accept ourselves and move in this world courageously and authentically. True recovery from an eating disorder requires we separate our worth as a human being from our body shape and size. But what remained constant was the horrible internal struggle and the feeling of never being good enough. The way the disorder looked over time morphed and changed. I spent over 25 years struggling with an eating disorder. And people with eating disorders come in ALL shapes and sizes. They feed into the false belief that you can tell if someone is recovering from an eating disorder based on their appearance.Īnyone who has gone through recovery understands that gaining weight does NOT magically make the internal hell of an eating disorder just disappear. Because they imply that our success can be seen and measured in an image. In addition to these posts triggering me, they also bother me on a deeper level. Before and After Photos Have a Deeper Problem… Whatever the reason, these posts strike a nerve in me.
But I would be lying if I said these before pictures didn’t pull at the disordered part of me that is still inside. Perhaps it is because comparison is one way the eating disorder festers and grows. My rational self knows that at my smallest I was also my MOST miserable. My wise self understands shrinking my body will never bring me happiness. Staring at emaciated bodies causes a reaction within me. There is still a part of me that wants desperately to be in a smaller body. I wonder if they believe these images are inspiring? Perhaps they are truly proud of their gains. Maybe they feel these images give validity to their stories about struggles they have overcome. I wonder why they think it is necessary to post their emaciated “before” pictures.
I have noticed more and more posts by social influencers in the recovery world depicting their success with “Before” and “After” images. And while I hope their intent is to inspire recovery, it often falls flat in my opinion. I follow many pro-recovery pages as well. Before and After Pictures in the Recovery WorldĪnd not all of these triggering images are about losing weight. In a society that puts dieting and weight loss up on a pedestal, it is hard to remember that for many of us, gaining weight is actually the most healthy thing we can do. I feel my stomach pressing into the pants that used to be loose on me. A twinge of jealousy creeps in as I notice others are shrinking while I have been gaining. This feeling of belonging helps people realise and remember that others have faith in their recovery, even at the moments when they feel that they don’t have much in themselves.As if by shrinking our outside appearance we somehow become more valuable, more lovable, and more desirable.Īnd as much progress as I have made in my recovery from an eating disorder, I am STILL triggered by these images. I feel a tugging in my stomach as I read about a friend and how much weight she has lost. We also dedicate time to quality activities involving all Imani residents.
Volunteering, fellowship meetings and support groups are all included in our weekly schedule. With that in mind, we make it a top priority to foster a sense of community. Our experienced, compassionate and dedicated team provides 24-hour care, to help adults afflicted with eating disorders along their individual healing journeys.Īlthough eating disorders come in many variations, there are commonalities within the pain and suffering of all of them. These complement our group and individual counselling sessions, nutritional assistance, psychiatry and other mainstream treatments. Imani offers a combination of therapies including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Schema Therapy, Tension and Trauma Release Exercises, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, and Biodanza.