Stay Strong!

I was flicking through the tv channels yesterday and I came across Demi Levato's documentary Stay Strong
I have seen the documentary before
But decided to watch it again
For those of you who don't know Demi, she was a child star and is now 23 and a singer and actress
I was always aware of Demi but it wasn't until she checked in to treatment in 2010 that I started to pay attention to her
She was in the middle of a tour when her family staged an intervention and she went straight to rehab for 'physical and emotional' problems
In reality Demi had been suffering from bulimia and depression for years and was also a self harmer
She described feeling fat at as young an age at 4
How her parents divorce affected her greatly
And how she had cripplingly low self esteem
Couple that with the pressure of being on tv and surrounded by skinny girls and an eating disorder was born
Like a lot of us she ploughed on regardless, taking on more and more work
She said she purged up to 6 times a day
She insisted she was fine but it was clear to those around her that she wasn't
She described being full of self hatred, fuelled by guilt and shame
She said  that she 'took it out on herself'
Eventually the family intervened and she went to treatment in October 2010 until January 2011

The documentary followed her on her first tour since coming out of treatment
She said that she couldn't say she hadn't purged or self harmed since leaving treatment
It showed her going home to Dallas for Thanksgiving and it was obvious that she was anxious
Her family was there and the house was filled with food
It was plain to see she was really struggling as she surveyed all the food
She made a phonecall to who I presume was another girl from treatment
It was touching to hear them give each other support and encouragement
It showed her eating lunch and she looked incredibly uncomfortable, glancing at other peoples plates an then declaring 'I'm uncomfortably full'

I could see a lot of sadness and pain still in Demi
The camera would catch her smiling but it would then break in to an expression of someone who looked a little bit lost
And of course she is a little bit lost
She is barely a year or two in to recovery and she is still so young
She said that she still battles everyday with body image
Made even more difficult by the fact that she gained 30lbs after leaving treatment
I thought she was so very brave to be honest about this
She could've put on an act for the documentary, painting a picture that everything was fan-fucking-tastic
But what she portrayed I think, was a realistic picture of recovery
It's not all rainbows and unicorn farts (to use a phrase of Peri's)
Recovery is hard
It's probably the hardest thing we will ever do in our lives
The temptation is always there to go back to old behaviours
Recovery is unkown territory
And it's a leap of faith
We're going down a path without knowing the outcome
Demi describes how recovery is not like bringing your car to a mechanic
You don't go in get fixed and come out brand new
She said it takes 'constant fixing'
I thought this was a really good metaphor
Recovery is not a destination
Recovery is the journey
It never ends
Recovery is working at it everyday

Even though there was alot of sadness in the documentary, the message I took from it was one of hope
She is incredibly open about her struggles and I think that has to be applauded
I read a blog over the weekend and the blogger and her commenters were talking about how Demi talks about her illness too much and how she is basically milking it for attention
I was blown away by this
Demi is breaking the silence by speaking out about her eating disorder
She could have easily put the troubles down to 'exhaustion'
But she didn't
She wants to help other young girls like herself who are suffering in silence
Surely as a fellow eating disorder survivor we should be supporting her not putting her down
Why shouldn't she talk about it?
It was a huge life changing event in her life
In the documentary it showed one of Demi's concerts and lots of girls queueing up outside
Girl after girl spoke about how Demi had helped them so much
'If Demi can do it then so can I' was quoted many times
One girl told how Demi gave her the courage to tell her parents about her own eating disorder and eventually went to treatment
That has to be a good thing

Another thing I took from the documentary is how it's so important to have something to put your energy in to in recovery
Demi has music and spoke about how it was the one thing getting her through the day
I don't consider myself to be in recovery but after watching this I thought maybe I am after all
I am fighting this thing
I do want to get well
Yes I still engage in behaviours but being in recovery isn't about being perfect
I always thought that I couldn't say I was in recovery until I  had everything sorted
Until I had recovery perfected
But maybe it's not like that at all
Maybe fighting every day does mean I'm in recovery
I don't want to be this way
I didn't invite this in to my life
Who would want to live this?
I sure don't

Overall I think Demi is an inspiration
She has been through a lot at such a young age and has come out on top
I also think it's great that she showed that you don't have to be emaciated to have an eating disorder
You can't tell by looking at someone if they have an eating disorder
They come in all shapes and sizes
From emaciated to obese and everything in between

So thanks Demi for teaching me a thing or two about my own battle

Secrets and Lies

I've tried twice to write a post but none of it makes any sense
I saw Mary today
For homework I have to write out a list of my achievements over the last few months
But I can't think of one never mind a whole list
She might consider my putting on weight an achievement but what does that mean other than I now take up more space
What does that matter when my mind is still so very sick
I lied to her today
I told her the stepper broke
It did break, that part is true
But I didn't tell her that I brought it back to the shop and exchanged it for a different model
Keeping secrets is not good Ruby
Remember we are only as sick as our secrets
I'm not seeing her now for 2 weeks and I'm already planning how much weight I can lose by then
Nothing else seems to matter
I'm feeling useless again
Like there is no point to me
No point to this life
Usually when I'm feeling like this writing helps but I seem to have lost the ability to write a coherent sentence
So I'll say it with pictures instead

Quicksand

I came across this quote the other day

' Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, being nothing '
                                                                            
                                                                                                                    - Aristotle
It has really stuck in my mind as this is exactly what I'm doing these days
Saying nothing
Doing nothing
Being nothing

I didn't use to be like this
I used to be spontaneous
I used to be gregarious
I used to be outgoing
But once my eating disorder took hold I completely changed
I went from being a girl with big dreams to a girl living in a nightmare
My eating disorder now has me in a headlock
Paralysed with fear and crippled with anxiety
I was supposed to start my writing group last night but I didn't go
My eating disorder told me that I am a rubbish writer so why bother going
It told me that no one would like me
Why would they?
It told me to stay at home and exercise
That's time better spent
Today I am sorry I didn't go
I mean what's the worst that could've happened
Someone didn't quite like me?
What is so bad about that?
Not everyone is going to like me and that should be ok
I have become a people pleaser
Not wanting to offend anyone or rock the boat in anyway
So I say nothing to avoid that
I am like a social chameleon
Changing my personality to suit who ever I'm with
If I'm with a quiet person, then I too am quiet
If I'm with someone loud, I absorb their personality by osmosis and also become loud
I have absolutely no idea who Ruby is
All I know is I'm Ruby the anorexic/bulimic, recovering heroin addict
Without these labels I don not know what is left
So I am avoiding criticism by avoiding life
I rarely venture too far from my house
I went to the dentist yesterday half an hour away and that was a big deal
But in avoiding all the bad things about life, I am also avoiding all the good things
I don't want to look back on my life and have so many regrets
And I will if I keep going like this
I'm missing out on the best years of my life
Saying nothing
Doing nothing
And above all, being nothing

Guilt fear and shame are like fuel for my eating disorder
Having been a heroin addict, I've done some pretty horrible stuff
And most often it was to the people I love the most
I broke my families heart
I lied to them, stole from them and used them for what I could get from them
Every job I have ever worked at I stole from
I remember going in to a supermarket one day
As I was paying for my item, the girl opened her till, I reached in, grabbed a handful of money and ran
The worst thing was that my mother was in the car outside so she became my get a way driver
When I think back on events like this I can't quite believe that was me who did those things
I stole off anybody and every body
I remember in treatment my psychiatrist asking me had I forgiven myself for doing these things
I definitely haven't and the guilt can be overwhelming
And so I feel that I owe these people something
My mother has told me that the best way I can repay her is by getting well
The one thing she wants is the one thing I can't seem to do
I am living in the past and often run events in my head on a loop
My drug addiction and eating disorder have turned me in to a person I don't recognise
I am like a frightened child
Afraid to take a risk on life
I feel like giving up
I seriously considered taking all my meds and sleeping forever but one thing stops me
I couldn't do that to my family
It might be an end to my problems but it would break my family
Living with guilt and shame is like being in quick sand
You kick and pull and try to get away from it but it keeps pulling you back in until you are smothered

My mood has picked up slightly
I saw my friend on Monday and that was good
She also has an eating disorder and a drug history
I got rid of the caffeine tablets but I'm still using the stepper
Not as much but I'm still using it
I told my doctor about the weekend
As I predicted he just moved my meds around
I don't need more meds
I need practical ways of helping myself
I'm not giving up just yet though
I'll put one foot in front of the other and keep going
Baby steps

Nothing changes if nothing changes

I saw Mary on Friday
I started crying before I had even sat down
I told her how things are getting out of control
That I am afraid
That I can't seem to stop
She weighed me and I had gained back some of the weight I had lost
Cue emotional meltdown
The first thought that ran through my mind was
'I can't do this anymore, I have to end this'
End it in a bad way not a good way
I actually considered taking my life over the sake of 2 pounds
I cried throughout the session
I told her I was tired of it all
That I don't want to be like this anymore
If I were on a train I would be pulling the emergency cord and getting the hell off
I hate that I'm measuring my self worth by what the scale says
I hate that those little numbers have so much power over me
We ended the session by writing out a list of things to do including throwing out the caffeine tablets, stop using the stepper and contact my friends
I broke down in front of my mother on Saturday
I couldn't stop crying
She told me she could see me slipping the last few weeks
That my behaviour had gotten obsessional again
I just wanted to sleep so I took some meds and slept for the weekend

But now it's Monday and the cold light of reality
I have to face up to the fact that I have to do something if I want this nightmare to end
I guess I'm at a crossroads and I can go one of two ways
I can retreat further in to my eating disorder or I can take a leap of faith and try recovery
Looking back over the last few weeks I can see where this all started
I was looking for something
Something to fill the void
I thought restricting and exercise would do the trick but they just made me worse
They say that addiction is progressive
That it gets worse over time
I believe this because I literally picked up where I had left off from my last anorexic episode
As I said before I know how this story ends
I will lose weight
Along with the weight I will lose my mind
Depression and anxiety will join the party
I will wake up every morning and dread the day ahead
The thought of suicide will be a comfort
Sooner or later I will end up in hospital
Then treatment
When I come the whole cycle starts again
Lather, rinse, repeat

I know some other bloggers are really struggling at the moment
Reading their posts is like reading my own thoughts
It breaks my heart to know that we are all going through the same thing
We may be hundreds, even thousands of miles apart but the common thread is that we are all suffering
Many of us suffering in silence
It makes me so angry that this illness is robbing us of the best years of our lives
And it seems to prey on the best of us
In treatment I met some of the most beautiful, talented, artistic, loving, giving people that I have ever met
The same with the people who I have 'met' on line
Anorexia/bulimia had robbed me of 12 years of my life
My education
My health
My friends
Some of my family
My sanity
My self worth
Any shred of self confidence I ever had
It filled this void with self hatred
Depression
Anxiety
Crippling fear
Doubt
Shame
Guilt

I have no doubt that my eating disorder wants me dead
It won't leave me alone until I am six feet under
Then it will be satisfied
A good friend once said to me that it's not a choice between anorexia and recovery, it's a choice between life and death
I believe this is so true
Anorexia/bulimia is a slow suicide
It's takes your body and then your mind
Today I am trying so very hard to choose life
Left to my own devices I would probably choose death but I just can't do that to my family
It would break their hearts
They say you should get well for yourself and no one else
I am going to do this for my family and hope that in time I will be doing for myself
Fake it 'til you make it
When I was giving up drugs I made a deal with myself
I'll give recovery a shot for 6 months and if it doesn't work I can always go back
Drugs will always be there but recovery won't
I'm meeting a friend today and even though it's the last thing I want to do I am making myself go
Like me, she has an eating disorder with a history of drug addiction
She told me that a lot of people were asking about me
That was nice to hear as I didn't think they had noticed that I'd disappeared
What I would really like to do today is curl up in bed
But I'm going to push myself to go out
Everything will just stay the same if I don't do something now
Nothing changes if nothing changes

The scale tells the tale!

I'm slipping
Slipping fast
I can feel it
Everyday I feel it a little bit more
I feel powerless to stop it
I feel I'm on a run away train and I can't get off
I don't like it
With drugs they say a relapse happens long before you pick up a drug
It begins with subtle changes in behaviours
So subtle you don't even notice them at first
They snowball and before you know it, using seems like a good idea
You forget the hell you went through and only remember the 'good' times
I think this is called 'euphoric recall'
It seems to be similar with eating disorders
I look back over the last couple of months and I see those subtle changes
I was on a come down after the summer
I stopped taking my meds
I started feeling worthless, useless and began mentally beating myself up
Negative thoughts bombarded me
I flirted with the idea of suicide
I needed something to put my energy in to, something to keep intrusive thoughts at bay
I felt I couldn't cope and so I turned to the one thing I've always used to cope
Food
I guess I could have gone one of two ways
I could have turned to it or away from it
I seem to have chosen the latter
Then I started to feel lazy
My walks became longer and more frequent but that wasn't enough
I bought a stepper
I've had it for 72 hours and it's already taking over my life
Getting up early to squeeze more exercise in
Even knowing all this, I can't seem to stop

For the first time in a long time I felt completely overwhelmed yesterday
I saw all the things I was trying to fit in to my day (Appointments, 2 dog walks, 3-4hours on the stepper, typing out my dad's French notes, cooking, writing...........) and I just felt it was too much
I used to have too much time in my day but I keep adding in things and it's putting pressure on myself
I also felt scared
Scared that I seem to be slipping at such a fast pace
Scared that even though I know how this story ends, I can't seem to stop myself
There was also an incident that gave me a glimpse in to my possible future
I was walking my dog down my road (I live on a country road but there are a lot of houses)
I heard someone call my name and I turned to see a woman in her garden
I know this woman to say hello to but that's about it
She looked wrecked, her eyes were blood shot and she seemed to be shaking
She was looking for a taxi number which I didn't have
I asked her if she was ok and she said she was but she obviously wasn't
She walked away muttering to herself
From talking to this woman before I suspect she may be an alcoholic with possible mental illness
I thought no more about it until the next day when I met another neighbour who lives across the road from this woman
I decided to tell her what had happened and she confirmed that this lady is indeed an alcoholic
She said she never leaves the house anymore and is getting worse and worse
After I left I thought about this woman more and more
I feel incredibly sorry for her
Then it struck me
That could me in 20 years time
It may or not be alcohol or drugs but it could be food
If I don't do something soon I'll be a mirror image of that woman
Sick, alone, a virtual recluse
At the moment the only people I see on a regular basis are my parents and sister
But what happens when they die, they are already in their 60's
I absolutely dread and fear the day my parents die
They are my everything
They are my parents, my carers, my friends
They support me emotionally and financially
As well as that they shouldn't have to care for me so much
I'm a grown woman who should be independent
Instead they are looking after a sick child
I remember when I was a child I was terrified of my father
I remember being in the bath and hearing him stomping around the house drunk
I truly thought he was going to kill me or my mother
I don't exaggerate when I say this
Even though he only ever hit me once, I was absolutely scared stiff of him
He was completely unpredictable
More than his fists he used words to hurt us, which in a way was worse
Bruises heal but words stay with you forever
I hoped and prayed he would die so my family would be free
Now my father is in a pretty similar position to that woman
Yes, he stopped drinking but he lives a solitary and lonely life
He comes to stay with me every week to support me but it's a two way street
It's a strange situation actually, my mother and father are separated but they swop houses during the week
Weird I know but it works for them
But now the thought of my mother or father dying leaves me cold with fear
I need to help myself before there is no one left to help me
When are you going to do something about this Ruby?
When are you going to take that leap of faith?
I should also mention that my other neighbours are alcoholics
They are a couple in their 70's and they cause as much trouble as a house of teenagers
I just don't want to end up like these people
I have to admit that the thought ran through my mind that if I took my own life then I could avoid all this
Yes, that would be the end of my problems but it would cause a world of hurt for my family
So I ruled that out
The other option is to sort myself out and get well
When Ruby?
When

A couple of years ago a friend suggested that I try going to Food Addicts Anonymous
I think I've mentioned this girl before
She used to be bulimic and now attends this group
They believe food is physiologically addictive
Namely sugar, wheat and flour
So they cut these foods completely out of their diets
They follow a strict food plan
Eating at certain times and weighing and measuring all their food
Even in restaurants (I've seen this girl do so)
I attended a few meetings
They follow the same principals as AA and work the 12 steps
I found the meetings good and could identify with the other women
But where I got confused was with my anorexia
Can I be a food addict and have anorexia?
Yes, they told me
In fact one of the women was previously anorexic
I also couldn't and still can't get my head around the food plan
I said it seemed very restrictive
But they said the opposite is true
It gives total freedom
Another paradox of the 12 steps
In the end I stopped going as I just couldn't commit
But yesterday I picked up a book that one of women had given me
It's called 'Food Addiction' by Kay Sheppard
I had read it before but it hadn't really sank in
As I read the first chapter my heart started to thump in my chest

'The food addict sees life in relationship to the next opportunity to eat'

'Preoccupation with food'

'Stealing food or money for food'

'Concern about weight'

'Food provides comfort and warm feelings'

I read a case study about a girl and I could have been reading my own story
Food issues since she was a child
History of drug and alcohol issues
Under eating
Over eating

I had to stop reading as I was paralysed with fear
Am I a food addict?
Of course all these symptoms all meet the requirements for bulimia and or anorexia
I took a highlighter and highlighted all the parts I could identify with
There were a lot
I'm not sure I like the term 'food addict' and I'm loathe to put another label on myself
Their food plan is definitely not for me
All that weighing and measuring would be too triggering
But maybe it wouldn't hurt to go to a meeting for the support and I do really need support
The book is helping me gain insight in to my own relationship with food so maybe there is method to this madness
I don't doubt that this method has helped my friend enormously
Now if only I could muster up the courage to ring her


I weighed myself this morning
I've lost 4lbs this week

Control The Freak

I've been thinking about my childhood a lot this week
Maybe because my sister is having some trouble with her son
Nothing serious, he's just being cheeky and a bit difficult
I'm sure he's confused
Confused as to  why his parents don't live together and why his aunt is a mess
He's 12 now and super smart, he picks up on everything
Even though I wasn't aware of it, my food issues started very young
I loved food as a child, it was  the highlight of my day
I  guess I turned to it as there was a lot of chaos at home
My dad was a functioning alcoholic and a control freak
It was like once us kids got to a certain age he completely turned on us although I got off lightly compared to my older brother and sister
My mother spent all her time trying not to upset him
There was a big age gap between me and my older siblings so for the most part I felt like an only child
My parents fought everyday and I walked on eggshells
It was ok when he was drunk, he was all happy and laughing
But it was the hangovers you had to watch out for
One morning in the kitchen, my mother asked my father if he wanted breakfast, he replied by throwing a cup of tea in to her face
I remember as a child packing my suitcase to run away
I packed two things
Socks and bread
I had a thing about bread
I remember my neighbours used to put out bread for the birds and when they went in I would sneak over and gobble it down
People used to say 'oh look at Ruby, she's such a good eater, she loves her food'
I hated this
I wanted to be a petit, delicate eater, only taking little bites
As I grew in to a teenager I spent as little time as possible at home
I remember restricting at school and worrying about weight
I did ballet and one day my teacher told me that I was losing too much weight
I was secretly delighted
At the barre, I looked at the girl in front of me
Her arms were thinner above the elbow and I remember thinking 'I want that'
By now I had started to dabble in drugs and I have to admit, part of that was wanting to lose weight
My mother told me that when I was in school one of my friends mothers rang her to tell her that I was purging in their bathroom
I honestly have no memory of doing this but I don't rule it out
Fast forward to age 19 and I'm living in Dublin with 3 friends
I used to steal their food and I was so confused as to why I was doing it
They used to blame each other and I was too ashamed to admit it was me
I was due to start a new job the next day and I remember feeling so overwhelmed that I sat up all night crying and slashing my wrist
By now I am taking heroin and things are going pear shaped
I became addicted very quickly and my life turned up side down
My father talked me in to applying for a job in the bank and the night before I was due to start, a huge row broke out at home and myself and my mother walked out
We checked in to a hotel for the week and I started work
The job was in Dublin and I had easy access to drugs
I used to go and score in my work clothes (bank uniform) and they dealers used to think I was a guard
A couple of months later and my mother finds syringes in my room
I leave work and things get even worse
My sister, an alcoholic at the time, moves in and things are chaotic to say the least
The next few years are horrific
A never ending merry-go-round of drugs, treatment, methadone
Inevitably you end up doing all the things you swore you'd never do
Thankfully my sister and I are both clean now and things have settled down
I suppose I am thinking about all of this and I'm sure my sister is too because we don't want my nephew to go down the same road
Unfortunately genetics are loaded against him so he has to be very careful
My sister worries about being a single parent but I think it's better to have a single parent and a happy home life than two parents and a chaotic one
In my opinion my mother should have left my father when we were kids but she says she wanted to wait until we were reared
My older brother and sister's relationship with my father is non existent, in fact I'm probably the one who is closest to him
But even saying that I am still wary of him
He doesn't drink anymore but  still retains his control freakishness
I don't want my nephew to have to go through what we went through so like a lioness guarding her cubs we will do our best to protect him

I ordered a stepper at the weekend
I seriously considered cancelling the order as the last time I had a stepper I spent hours every day on it
Against my better judgement, I picked it up yesterday
I've had it less than 24 hours and I've already spent 4 hours on it
That
Is
Ridiculous
Ruby
As before, I parked it in front of the tv
And I have another confession
While waiting for my methadone in the chemist on Monday, I was browsing and I found caffeine tablets
Again, even though I knew it was stupid, I bought them
Being an addict, I never take meds or tablets as directed
It said to take 1-2 a day
So I took 4 - 5
Now you understand why I spent 4 hours on the stepper
This morning I am thinking 'What the hell are you doing Ruby'
I know this is incredibly stupid
I know I am heading for a slippery slope
I know how this story ends
But I still can't seem to stop myself
Since bulimia has gone on holiday my intake has decreased
All of a sudden food seems to be the enemy
All of a sudden my safe foods are dwindling and I'm making batches of Weight Watchers 0 point soup
All of a sudden it seems urgent that I lose weight
I'm not quite sure what has changed but my something in my head has flipped
Even though I know these behaviours only too well and I know where they lead, I'm unable to stop myself
I remember my ex sponsor giving me some advice once
'Ruby, if you don't know what to do, do the opposite of what you think you should do'
This was simple but effective advice
If I don't think I should go to a meeting, get my ass to a meeting
If I don't think I should eat dinner, eat that sucker
If I think I should jump off the nearest cliff, think again
At the moment I seem to be doing the opposite of the opposite if that makes sense
But what am I doing?
I know I can jump from bulimia to anorexia so is that what's happening now?
This illness is so sneaky, so seductive
As they say in the meetings, it is cunning, powerful and baffling
I'm not seeing Mary until Friday and I will try and not give her a censored version of what's happening
I had a chat with my Dad yesterday
I was trying to explain the way I think about food
He asked me my weight and I told him what I think it is
I asked him if I am fat
He laughed
He said 'Ruby, you're not looking as ill anymore but you could do with a few pounds'
I wish I could see what he sees
I feel huge
I feel fat therefore I am fat
So where is this all going?
Hopefully I'll come to my senses but since when did sense have anything to do with it?
I guess time will tell

It's Good To Talk

People often ask me how I ended up on drugs
And how heroin of all drugs
I have an uncle who when he has a couple of drinks, tries to pin me down on the exact reason as to why I started taking drugs
He wants a specific event or even person to blame it on
God knows it couldn't be my fault
But there is no one answer
Yes my home life was chaotic
Yes I had no confidence
Yes I was a risk taker
Yes I wanted to fit in
The real answer is that it was a combination of things
Circumstance, nurture, nature, genetics, environment, being in the wrong place at the wrong time and just plain bad luck
People seem to have no problem asking me about drugs as they can understand how someone might get sucked in to that world and have the misfortune to become addicted
But eating disorders are another matter
No one likes to talk about eating disorders
Even though people are fascinated by them, not many people tall about them openly
Therefore they are completely misunderstood
I've lost count of the number of times my sister has said to me 'I don't understand the whole food thing'
Then why don't you try?
Why don't you ask me?
You're probably dying to
People have said all the usual things to me over the years
Is because you want attention?
Why do you want to be so thin?
Boys don't like skinny girls ya know?
That thin isn't pretty ya know?
They presume I must want attention but in fact the opposite is true, I want to disappear
They presume I want to be thin, I don't I want to die
They think I'm doing it to impress a boy, I'd rather eat my own foot than have a boy touch me
They think I'm doing it because I'm vain
What is vain about throwing up every hour?
What is vain about having a yellow complexion, brittle hair and dry skin
Yes, people have a lot of strange ideas as to why I'm doing this
They think it is a disorder than only affects rich white girls
They think it's a teenage thing and therefore a phase
I remember meeting my uncle when I was at my lowest weight of 77lbs
He didn't know what to say to me so he shoved 150 euro in to my hand and told me to 'buy myself something nice'
What like food?
Even though I knew his intentions were good, I was highly insulted
People are happy to talk about the fact I used to inject heroin in to my neck but they can't handle a conversation about food
But of course we all know it's not really about food
That is just a symptom of a greater problem
I believe eating disorders are a form of addiction
I use the same behaviours in my eating disorder that I did in drug addiction
The lying, the stealing, the guilt,  the shame
People think this is just a phase
That I can stop when I want to
If that was the case I would have stopped years ago
Of course eating disorders are a metal illness and no one likes to mention mental illness in polite conversation
My family is a little different in that addiction and mental illness are rife
But It is talked about but only in a round-a bout type of way
It is whispered behind closed doors
I remember going through a particularly nasty bout of depression
I was just home from a long spell in treatment and immediately relapsed
I felt utterly hopeless
I remember my family trying to snap me out of it
My doctor did little more than increase my medication
No one could understand why I was in such despair
The thing is mental illness is invisible
You can't see depression or even bulimia
Governments don't put enough money or resources in to mental illness because you can't see the results
Better to put the money in to something where you can see a tangible outcome

How's the view up there Ruby
Yes, I'm on my high horse now

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we all should talk more about our disorders
Everybody should
It can only help
Help us get through it
Help to raise awareness
Help to educate others
I remember when I was a child a teenage neighbour killed himself
He walked in front of a train
My own family never really acknowledged this
Never sat us down and explained what suicide even was
This left me confused and I formed my own misguided opinions of what suicide was
Nothing was spoken about when I was growing up
My parents still haven't had the 'sex talk' with me
Periods were never explained and I had a very strange idea as to what a period was until a friend set me straight
Talking about these things can only be a good thing
For everyone

Things for me are pretty much the same
I spent yesterday walking from my kitchen to my bathroom
In other words binging and purging
I call it binging but they weren't really binges
I had 2 fish cakes
Purge
2 more fish cakes
Purge
A sandwich
Purge
But they feel like binges
Any food feels like too much
The other days I've been existing on Weight Watchers 0 point soup
Delicious, filling and guilt free
It occurred to me the other day that I am lazy
I walk my dogs twice a day but no other exercise
I decided I need to exercise more
So I ordered a stepper which I'm picking up tomorrow
I had a stepper a couple of years ago when going through a dark anorexic period
I used to park it in front of the tv and stay there for hours
I wore it out within a few months
I don't intend to take it to such an extreme this time but who am I kidding, I probably will
My mother has already expressed concern and I'm sure Mary will have something to say
I feel numb these days
A quiet acceptance of my fate
Hope is hard to grasp
I see a glimmer of it sometimes but I think it's just an illusion
A trick of the light
I am increasingly becoming a recluse
Only venturing out in early morning so as to avoid people
My friend has tried to ring and text me
But I don't want to bore her with my misery
I try to stay in relatively good form around my family
But I'm sure they know I am in my own personal hell
I'm not quite sure where to go from here and so I seem to be delving further in to my eating disorder
It's strange to think I am 30 now
In some ways I feel I lived a hundred lives
But in others I feel as though I am still a child
It's a confusing place to  be
I am needy like a child
Needing constant reassurance
I can barely look after myself
Or rather I don't want to
Everything seems like an enormous effort
Even washing
Everything is followed with the question 'What's the point?'
Maybe I am slipping in to depression
I'm not quite sure
Whatever it is I don't like it

Do you talk about your eating disorder/mental illness with others?