The pop icon, Demi Lovato shared an Instagram post this week reminding people that the journey of recovering from an eating disorder is often not quick or linear. Moreover, for some people, including her, it is an ongoing journey along a winding path.
She posted a video a hand-painted ceramic mug. The phrase “I am worth it” and the logo for the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) was on the mug.
Lovato is recovering from bulimia. The mug represented the continuous healing journey she is currently undergoing.
She captioned the clip, “This is the @neda symbol for eating disorder recovery.”
“I painted this at @colormemine years ago…even though I was in the throes of my eating disorder, I still made this in hopes that I would truly believe it someday,” Demi Lovato explained.
Previously, Demi Lovato spoke about her experiences with dieting, body image and food shaming. She went through years-long of recovery process. At this point, she said she had better days and harder ones too.
“I still struggle. Daily. There are periods of time where I forget about my food struggles and other times it’s all I think about. Still. But that is what ED recovery looks like for some people and I still have hope that someday I won’t think about it anymore. For now, my mug reminds me that I am worth it, and today I believe it,” Demi wrote.
In response, NEDA commented on Demi’s post and here is what they had to day:
“Thank you Demi for being open and honest about your ongoing struggle. ED (Eating Disorder) recovery is not linear and this post is an important reminder to take it one day at a time.”
About Recovering From The Disorder
Recovering can be long, complex, and challenging. Just like any other mental and behavioral health condition. The experience may vary with every individual. (Not to mention, the actual criteria for what it really means to be “in recovery” from an eating disorder are up for debate.)
Generally speaking, eating disorder recovery often requires years of work. In addition to that, NEDA explained that there are multiple forms of treatment and professional and social support.
However, since the process is not linear, the binary concept of being “recovered” versus “not recovered” is not necessarily helpful.
It is totally normal to have periods of feeling like you have not made progress or you have regressed while still being in recovery.
“Slips, backslides, and relapse tend to be the rule, rather than the exception,” especially during times of stress. Moving forward is key, however slow it might be,” NEDA said.
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