Summer is my favourite season, I
love the colours and the warm weather and sweet smells. I also love summer
activities, swimming, biking, running, bbqing etc. Summer makes me happy, but for about the last
10 years of my life, summer has also brought a lot of mental pain. The first time I remember trying to lose
weight it was at the end of the school year in Grade 11 when I had just turned
17. That was my anorexic summer. The next summer was the summer I remember
arguing a lot with my family, admitting to my mom that I had an eating problem, and certainly
not being ready to move away to University. Every summer after that for about 4
years this season meant diet pills and exercise so I could wear all my favourite
clothes and bikini’s. One summer it got to be too much for me, the mental
effects of my lack of food brought me to a place where weight and food were all
I thought about, that was the summer I decided I needed out of this mental hell, and started on the recovery path.
Every summer since then it seems to be the same for me,
feelings of anxiety. Wishing it would be easy to turn to my old habits so I
could feel good in summer clothes. Feeling sadness that I feel so uncomfortable
in my own skin that I have to x out many options of attire I might wear
including bikinis and anything strapless or form fitting. Every summer the
acceptable length of shorts gets longer for me to the point where this year I
hate wearing shorts, I don’t want to, I just want to buy dresses, but again my
body type is hard to fit dresses correctly without it being too small on top or
too big on the bottom.
I spend so much time lying around hating my body and the
fact that I don’t feel like I look nice in summer clothes right now. This has consumed
me for so many years. I was going to buy a summer pass for the pool in my
village but I am now realizing the terror I feel this summer of being in a
bathing suit (not even a bikini) in front of other people. It sucks. I know
there are so many others out there that feel the same as I do, and even worse.
I have come so far from that first summer, and I would never go back to my old
eating disordered habits, but I just wish I knew how to stay positive! I know it
helps to focus on what you like about yourself, but lately my problem is I am
starting not to like those parts anymore since my recent weight gain due to
physical illness and the halting of physical activity for a few months.
I want so bad to inspire others that have disordered eating
that there is a better way, but it is still so hard for me most days to like my
body and that was always the question “is it better to be skinny and miserable
or normal size (feeling constantly fat) and miserable?”
The answer is definitely normal size, because at least I can
focus on other things in life besides my body image, and that is worth the
most, being able to live life!
The goal: not to care so much about how I feel in summer clothes, and just enjoy the summer!
The goal: not to care so much about how I feel in summer clothes, and just enjoy the summer!
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