Support for those recovering in unsupportive households/with unsupportive family members!
Hi! I'm Melissa and I'm recovering from disordered eating, yet because I am at a healthy weight, my parents don't think I should be eating as much as I need to heal. I feel very judged by them sometimes, which makes recovering harder!
So, I wanted to make a thread to share our struggles to recover with limited support!
What is your recovery environment like?
I always feel left out no matter who I'm with. I tend to distance myself by watching YouTube or playing games but my family doesn't seem to think about why I do it and instead, they call me lazy and boring. I would explain to them, but my parents don't really allow me to feel anything but happiness. When I'm sad and tell them, they tell me not to be. When I'm mad or disagree with them, they call me stuck up and rude. I've lost a lot of friends but my parents tell me friends don't matter. I feel very lonely so I distract myself with Netflix, and YouTube because I don't feel comfortable getting my drawings judged. The other day, my dad told me I didn't know how to draw. But my distractions somehow gets my family to bully me.
@Kapis It is so tough to deal with parents who don't understand. I can relate to being called lazy and depressed even though I am trying so hard to be more energetic and get healthier. I'm proud of your efforts to stay strong :)
Basically my parents have no idea that I have mental health issues, my mum is abusive so she isn't exactly supportive, my dad is never home and when he is home work or golf is important nothing g else matter for example he completely forgot about my 18th birthday because he was away playing golf, also my parents are the there is no mental illness it's all in your head type, my parents have no idea I have any issues I always just keep to myself and have got very good at hiding how I'm feeling.
So basically I just have myself and the only people I really talk to is people on here
@selfconfidenteagle6805 Being in an abusive family is so difficult and it reslly sucks that your parents don't believe you have problems or care about your wellbeing. Its hard to go through this journey with so little support. I am glad you have 7cups :)
My family just never admitted that I had a problem, so I always felt so alone. I had to come to terms with my issues by myself and had to find ways to start healing all by myself.
@Drepet5684 where are you in terms of recovery? Thats really incredible that you took that feat on yourself! I am going through something similar and know it must have been so hard. ❤️
@imwithhealthtoo I'm doing very well now and I'm pretty much back to being comfortable with myself. But when I first started recovering, it was very difficult because I felt completely alone.
@Drepet5684 Congratulations! I'm glad ;) Yes recovering alone is not fun at all!
@imwithhealthtoo Thank you!
@Drepet5684
I can very much relate. Now I'm recently diagnosed and I'm struggling a great deal
@Jme123 do you feel like you have to pull yourself together and take things on alone?
@imwithhealthtoo
very much so. It's not a good feeling and babe quit on treatment 3 times.
@imwithhealthtoo
ive dealt with a eating disorder for about 20 years. Diagnosed few months ago and it's to be considered severe. I also deal with anxiety, depression, ocd tend. I'm 32 married with kids also
@Jme123 that must be do tough trying to care for the family too! How do you manage?
@imwithhealthtoo
carefully. Very carefully. It's tough.
@Jme123 it must be! Are you in therapy? Wishing you the best
@imwithhealthtoo
i was suppose to enter a inpatient program but have failed to go yet. Time isn't right yet. Idk. And thank you
@Jme123 I see. I hope in time it may feel right to go!
@imwithhealthtoo Hey Melissa! Its great to hear that you're on your recovery path, however challenging it may seem1 My family is over supportive, so they sometimes go overboard with the feeding, though we always try to balannce it out in the end
@happyfoot15 hi there! Glad to know you are on your recovery journey as well! Yay for balance! It sounds like your parents want the best for you :)
@imwithhealthtoo @kapis @selfconfidenteagle6805 @drepet5684 @jme123 @happyfoot15
I find all of your posts really inspiring and heartbreaking. I can relate so much to many of your words - I am in recovery now from a 10 year battle with an eating disorder, and one which I did largely without the support that I needed. Whether it's not working because they are in denial, they don't understand what you need, they smother you by over-caring, or anything else, it's hard enough to recover without getting the wrong kind or not enough support from those around you.
If any of you ever need some extra support from someone who has been there, or even just a place to vent about it all when it gets to be too much, you are more than welcome to message me and I would be honored to help you on your path to recovery.
Much love to all of you, and stay strong, you beautiful warriors!
@Anomalia thank you so so much ❤️
@Anomalia This is beautiful and honestly made my day. I feel safer knowing that there is another person out there who can understand what this feels like. Thank you so much for offering this support
It gets really tough not being in a supportive community when it comes to healing. The most important thing to do is not listen to others, or even your mind, but your body. Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full, etc. Negative thoughts are easily kept in negative situations (unsupportive families, abusive households, etc) and it's so hard to get out of the cycle sometimes. Just know that it does get better, and it's so important that you're caring for yourself!
I've learned to stop listening to my family whenever they talk about food or weight with me, I just nod my head and tune out because it does nothing to help me, it usually only hurts me.
Stay strong!
@freefromworries thats a great strategy! And its so important to remember our goal and remember that we deserve health no matter what!