I wasn't expecting it
But it was a really tough session
With all the elements for a good drama
Anger
Tears
Tragedy
Comedy
I feel like I ran the gamut of emotions
All in the space of the hour
First things first
Mary wanted to weigh me
I had no objection to this
As I had weighed that morning
And knew what my weight was
I didn't look at the number as I stood on the scale
For some reason
Seeing the number is harder that hearing it
I put my shoes back on
She asked me what I thought my weight was
I gave her a number
Then she told me
And flippin' Norah
It was two kilos heavier than my scale at home
Cue complete meltdown
I just wanted to run out of the room
At first I felt anger
Anger at myself for being so effected by the number
Anger at Mary's scales
And anger at Mary for weighing me on her cruel heavy scales
She continued to speak to me
Asking me why I put so much weight on what I weigh
I barely heard of what she was saying
Couldn't even look her in the eye
I remember her saying that I was one pound heavier than I was last week
And that could be muscle, faeces or fluid
I know that
But it doesn't make it any easier
Mary wanted me to write a pros and cons list with her
About the benefits of having an ED
And the negatives
By now
I had my head in my hands
And tears were stinging my eyes
I couldn't write the list
It was taking all my energy not to tear my own hair out
Earlier on in the session
I had been telling Mary how I compare myself to my sister
How I'm always interested in her weight
And sometimes ask her to try on my clothes
So I can see the difference in what we weight
This is very eating disordered I know
And I need to stop doing it
Mary challenged me on this
And I was starting to feel attacked
Although looking back
I wasn't attacked
She was asking difficult questions
Questions that need to be answered if I am going to recover
I said to Mary
'I think I should go'
But she continued to speak to me
Now trying to make me see sense
I said I didn't understand why I needed to be weighed
When knowing the number had such a negative impact
She said that it's important to know my set point
And to have at least an idea what I weigh
I don't agree
But I see her point
I was now starting to feel a little better
The initial shock of hearing the number was wearing off
Mary asked me to write a list of where I would like to be in five years time
I listed ten things
From being clean and sober
To having my own place
From recovering from my ED
To being in a relationship
Mary then asked me to number them in order of importance
Which I did
'Ruby
If you want to get well
And not care about weight or shape
These are the things you should concentrate on
Don't compare yourself to others
Don't body check
Don't weigh obsessively
These are the things that matter to you really
And if you do achieve them
Then you will be happy'
I've heard it a million and one times
That happiness works from the inside out
Not the outside in
But for some reason
Hearing Mary say those words
It suddenly clicked with me
I'm not going to be happy if I hang my happiness on my weight
Because it's losing game
A game I can never win
Because my ED is never satisfied
Never
It's the same with my buying clothes all the time
I buy them because I think I will be happy when I have that item of clothing
And I am
For five minutes it fills the hole in my soul
But after the novelty has worn off
I'm on the hunt for the next hoody, trousers, trainers
It's like a drug
Once you get and use the drug
You feel massive relief
But it doesn't last
And so its on to the next fix
Hearing Mary say these words today
Looking at that list
And feeling so raw and emotional
I suddenly had the revelation that no
I will never get well
Or be happy
If I continue the way I am going
With my food
With my meds
With my constant need to shop for clothes
They are all just symptoms of a greater problem
And that problem is that I don't like me
That I am not worthy unless I am skinny
That I can only deal with life when I pop a pill
That me Ruby
A 33 year old woman
Can not handle life on life's terms
I'm looking for happiness in all the wrong places
Looking for quick fixes that temporarily ease the pain
But in reality they only postpone it
And it comes back two fold
Again and again
We were coming to the end of our session
Mary acknowledged that this was one of the hardest sessions I've had
She is not wrong
This is all stuff I don't want to look at
Never mind deal with it
But I must if I am going to get well
Yesterday's session was a bit of a revelation
I finally saw for the first time
That happiness does not come in a pill
It's not a clothes size
Or a number on a scale
Happiness comes from the inside
Finding self worth
Self confidence
And self esteem
In knowing that I am ok just the way I am
That I don't need to change my appearance to fit in with society's idea of perfection
I have come through drug addiction
Alcoholism
Anorexia and bulimia
I'm lucky to have even made it this far
What I look like is irrelevant
I'm just glad to be still standing
I don't know why this has never registered with me before
That in order to live a happy life
I need to do the things I love
Surround myself with people I love
And reach for the goals I've set myself
I guess I am a slow learner
As this is only beginning to dawn on me
Better late than never I guess
Even though it was a really tough session
It ended well
She asked me jokingly if I wanted to come back next week
And I thanked her for putting up with me
This is exactly the reason why everyone needs a Mary in their lives
A lesser councillor would have been at loss as what to do when I had my meltdown
And was hiding my face in my hands for ten minutes
In short
Mary was well able for me
And she does it all in a kind way
I left the session feeling a little better
A bit clearer about what I need to do
So I marched out in to the big bad world
My list of goals in one hand
My car key in the other
Ready to do battle with this bitch
Once and for all.....