Surfing the crimson wave

I first got my period when I was 14
I was lucky that I didn't get PMT
Or cramps
Or any other adverse effects
It was an inconvenience as I was a swimmer
But apart from that it didn't bother me all that much
For the next few years
It came and went
But when I was about 22
It stopped completely
And didn't reappear until about 3 months ago
So for 10 years I had no period
I have even forgotten that I was supposed to have one

So yes
About 3 months ago my period re-emerged
It was quite a shock to get it again
In a way it was like getting it for the first time all over again
And it has taken some getting used to
So every month since then
My period has come bang on time
Around the 16th of the month

But now when I get my period
I get cranky and irritable in the week before it arrives
According to my sister
If I am in the middle of a rant about something
She will simply ask
'When are you due your period?'
That shuts me up

Then the day before I get my period
I get really really tired
Like exhausted to the point that I need 2 naps a day
As well as a full nights sleep
I got my period on Tuesday
And since then I have been wiped out
I feel lethargic
I have big purple bags under my eyes
And I just generally feel like I want to climb in to bed
And stay there forever

I was wondering if any of you experienced this when you got your period back
Do let me know




Ten out of ten if you can name this film
I remember I used to love this film when I was a teenager
And this quote is one of the best

We are family!

Last Christmas

I got my nephew a polaroid camera

Today we were messing around with it

Here's the result.......

Me and my sisters

Me, my sisters and my nephew

Saw this on a car today

Most embarrassing moment!

To give us all a break from the heaviness that is our eating disorders
I thought that I would write about something completely different today
A bit of light relief

I've had many, many embarrassing moments over the years
Falling
Tripping up
Saying silly things (I do this a lot)
But probably my most embarrassing moment came when I was teenager

I was 16
And had just acquired my first part time job
In a well known supermarket chain
My main job was to help customers pack their groceries
I remember I was paid 2.56 an hour (Irish pounds)
I needed the job though
To fund my hectic lifestyle
To buy smokes
And alcohol
And drugs
I remember going in to work without a wink of sleep
And managing to get through the day
Oh to be young and energetic again

This particular day
I was stationed at a little booth at the entrance to the store
I was promoting the Mother and Baby club
Which was something mothers could sign up to to get vouchers, money off baby products etc
It was a cushy number
As all I had to do was sit there and smile

This day I was severely hungover
I could barely keep my eyes open
A woman came up to the booth
Carrying a tiny baby
She asked me about the club
And I gave her the information
You had to fill in a form to join
And because she was carrying the baby
She asked me to fill it in for her
'Yes, of course' I said
So far so simple

I asked her name
'Mary Cox' she replied
I printed her name on the form
And because I was in such a delicate state
I really wasn't thinking
And I wrote Mary COCKS!
'Oh my God!' she exclaimed as she saw what I had written
'That's not my name!'
It was only then that I realized what I had done
'Gosh I am so sorry' I said
And quickly ripped up the form
And got a new one
I was mortified
I couldn't believe that I had just written 'Cocks' on the form
I wanted the ground to open up an swallow me whole

Thankfully the woman saw the funny side of the situation
And didn't report me for indecent behaviour
It really was an innocent mistake though
I just wrote it the way I heard it

So what is the moral of the story?
Well, for starters
Don't go in to work with a raging hangover
This will lessen the chances of you messing up
Offending someone
Embarrassing yourself
And possibly getting sacked
Fortunately I didn't get sacked
And it did make for a funny story

The moral is also to ask how to spell a word if you are not sure
I know this because I have a very difficult surname
And people generally never get it right
So I know better than to assume I know how to spell something

I was wondering about you
What is your most embarrassing moment?
I'd love to know...........

Because we're worth it......

If there is one thing that I've learned
Is that people do the things they do for a reason
And are they way they are for a reason
Because of nature
Or nurture
Environment
Circumstances
Whatever the reason
People are the way they are for a reason

I suffered with my ED for a long time before I was even aware of it
I wasn't trying to lose weight
I wasn't trying to restrict
But I couldn't stop myself using these behaviours
Even though it made no sense
Even though I knew I was headed for destruction
I couldn't stop

I was diagnosed with anorexia when I was 19 years old
It changed everything
I became super aware of my weight
Because the number seemed important to the professionals
So it became important to me
I had been given the label of 'Anorectic'
And I felt that I had to live up to it

I remember the day that I left school
I had been waiting for that day for so long
I could hardly wait for the last day of my exams to come
I remember walking out the school gates that day
What an anti climax
I thought I would be overjoyed with the freedom I had
But instead I felt scared
What would I do now?
Where would I go?
How would I manage out in the big bad world
I thought that I would go travelling
And told everyone so
But 14 years later
I still haven't gone

A couple of years later
I applied to college
And started the course
But my addiction quickly got in the way
And I dropped out
I was a lost soul
Wandering aimlessly through life
I took jobs here that there
But couldn't commit to anything

My eating disorder became a career of sorts
It became my job
I worked hard all week restricting and exercising
And expected a big fat pay che at the end of the week
In the form of weight loss
I was dedicated to my ED
It came first
Before everything and everyone
But above all
It was something that I was good at
Some thing to excel at
It fed that desire in me to feel special
To be better than others at something
I didn't have a college degree
I didn't have a career
My ED was my everything

But of course
Being good at self destruction is not something to brag about
I almost killed myself
And broke my families heart
Now that I am coming out the other side of my ED
I am trying to find other things that I am good at
Something to feed that need to excel at something
The great thing is that everyone is good at something
And not just one thing
Usually a person has many talents
Over the last few months
I have found that writing is something that I truly love
And I feel quite confident writing
I also rediscovered my love of swimming
And yoga
And I am not half bad at them
I have found that I am actually a people person
I like to be around people
I like to laugh and have fun
And I am blessed to have some amazing people in my life

So yes
People are the way they are for a reason
I am the way I am because of my experiences
I am finally realizing that I am not a bad person
I never was
I was a very ill person
There is a huge difference
I am finally seeing that there is more to me than my weight
I am more than a clothes size
Or a number on a scale
I have never felt so stable
And that is quite miraculous
I am ever grateful for the people around me
Who have carried me over the last 15 years
Without them I would most definitely not be here
In one piece

As you know
Things are not perfect here in my little world
But I am doing my best
To stay well
To mind myself
To feed myself
To take care of myself
Because I am worth it
And you are too

Over to you........

So I've been thinking
This blog gets quite a lot of hits every day
Between 500 - 800 every day
And only a very small percentage of these actually leave a comment
I know quite a few of you that read and comment
But there must be so many that I don't know
You all know so much about me
I don't censor my blog in any way
I write like no one is reading
But I would like to know about you
What's your name?
Where are you from?
How long have you been reading?
How did you find this blog?

I would love to know some tid bits of information about you
Anything at all
What you look like
If you have an eating disorder or some other mental health issue
Do you have any pets?
Do you work?
What age are you?

So today I invite you to get in touch
I would really love to hear from you
Whether you have read from the start
Or if you are a new reader
Maybe you drop by from time to time
Maybe you've never commented before
Maybe you don't like me or my blog
Maybe you are going through similar things to me
Maybe you are in recovery
Maybe not
Maybe you can relate
Who ever you are
Where ever you are from
Do let me know
I am always curious as to who reads this blog
And comments truly make my day
It blows my mind that people all around the world read my words and leave messages of hope and love
I'll look forward to hearing from you
Over to you............

Press the button?

I was reading Rebecca's last post
She posed a question that Stephen Fry posed in his documentary about bipolar disorder

If there was a big red button in front of you that would take it all away (Ie mental illness, eating disorder, addiction) and make you 'normal', would you press it?

I think this is a really thought provoking question
And I have thought a lot about this over years
I've been angry and resentful about my situation
I've been jealous of others who seem to sail through life
I've been depressed about the fact that I am not and  never will be 'normal'
But being me hasn't been all bad
I've had some amazing experiences because of my illness and addiction
And I've met the most awesome people along the way
I've learned so much
I've become a better and more empathetic person
I am the person I am today because of the experiences that have shaped me
It is a burden though
Having both an addiction and an ED to deal with
And part of me would love to be ED and addiction free
But they are part of who I am
Some may call them flaws
Or character defects
But I think they make up the person that I am
However if I could I would take away the pain it has caused my family over the years
But to answer the question
No
I wouldn't press the button

Would you press the button?

Thin

Ok
So I know that I am banging on and on about my weight re-gain
But please bear with me
It's a massive step for me (Literally!)
And it's taking a lot of time
And a lot of patience to come to terms with it
To make myself feel a bit better about things
I am swimming 5 mornings a week
Although this week has only been 3 because I am, not well
I also walk my dogs every day
So I am getting regular exercise
My sister told me that she thought that I looked more toned recently
I was delighted to hear this
As that is the look I am going
Healthy, fit and toned is the order of the day

I was really active when I was young
I used to swim before school
Then attended dance class after school
I was always on the go
I don't think it was so much about being fit
I just really enjoyed those hobbies
Although I promptly quit when I started to rebel as a teenager

Being skinny was always on my radar
Being on show at swimming and at dance
I was conscious of keeping slim
I remember someone told me once that if I gave up dancing
My muscles would turn to fat
That terrified me
They were wrong though
They didn't

Then of course came the drug years
So I was scarily skinny for those
My ED overlapped here
I just wasn't aware of it
It was news to me when I nurse sat me down one day
And told me that I had anorexia
I remember that nurse
Her name was Anna
And I affectionately nick-named her Anna-conda
I wouldn't listen to her
I couldn't take it in
I couldn't deal with the fact that I had both a drug addiction and now an ED to deal with
I vehemently denied that I was eating disordered
Even though I wasn't eating
Even though I was purging
And hiding food
I still couldn't admit to  it

Time passed
Years in fact
And finally I gave in an admitted I had an ED
When I got clean it was harder to stay thin
It took a lot more work
But I almost felt that I had to be thin
Because I had been given the title of 'Anorectic'
And I had to live up to that title

Over the next few years
I gained and lost the same 30 pounds over and over again
I've been every size
And every weight under the sun
That's why I have an array of clothes in every size known to man

The cruel thing about this illness
Is that we never get to enjoy the one thing we crave the most
Thin
Because we never believe that we are thin enough
At my  lowest weight
I weighed the same as my golden retriever
I still thought that I was fat

The weight gain this time happened very fast
I was gaining a kilo a week
It was happening faster than I could process it
And at first I felt so out of control
It was scary
Now I am there
I am weight restored
I am of a healthy weight
This is what I had been fighting for so long
And you know what?
It's not as bad as I thought it would be

Of course weight gain is not the only change
Something in my brain has shifted too
Otherwise I would be an anorectic in a healthy body
Which is pure torture
I decided to try recovery
Test the waters
And so far so good
I feel good
And that my friends is a freakin' revelation

I'm not fighting my body any more
I am accepting it
And trying to like and even love it
It's not easy
I have days where I want to unzip my skin and step out of it
I have days when I ask anyone who will listen over and over again if I am fat
I have days when I can't find s single item of clothing that looks good
I have days when I feel like a baby elephant
But on the whole
Life is good
I feel good
I have peace of mind
I feel something approaching happiness
And if weight gain is the price I have to pay
Then I am willing to pay it