207 Reasons to Recover

Whatever you’re recovering from, be it an eating disorder, self harm, substance abuse, mental illness, or alcoholism, here are 207 reasons to keep at it:

 

1. So you can be the kind of person you’ve always wanted to be.
2. So you can move on.
3. So you can love yourself.
4. So that your story can have a happy ending.
5. To be able to feel beautiful in your own skin.
6. To inspire someone else.
7. So you can stop wishing and start living.
8. So you can get your life back.
9. To be able to accept love from others.
10. So that you don’t become just a memory.
11. Because you deserve to be okay.
12. You’ve already made it this far. Why give up now?
13. So that you can have energy.
14. To feel like life is worth living.
15. Do it for those who love you.
16. Being able to make new friends.
17. No more lying to others.
18. No more lying to yourself.
19. Not feeling alone.
20. To be able to smile. Truly smile.
21. Because it’s not impossible.
22. No more excuses.
23. To be able to treat yourself with kindness.
24. No more hiding.
25. Being able to wear what you want.
26. To be able to enjoy food.
27. To break the cycle.
28. So that you can live up to your full potential.
29. Getting your voice back.
30. To be able to have a family.
31. So that you can have your dream job.
32. To be able to sleep at night.
33. To be able to forgive yourself.
34. To be able to appreciate the life you’ve been given.
35. Having control over your thoughts.
36. No more isolation.
37. To be able to trust yourself.
38. To be human and feel the things you’re supposed to feel.
39. To stop being embarrassed to be out in public.
40. So the good memories outweigh the bad ones.
41. To have faith in the future.
42. So you can stop being afraid.
43. To stop trying to achieve a perfection that is impossible.
44. Because hurting yourself won’t suddenly make you the person you want to be.
45. To fight for your rights.
46. To be able to experience emotion, instead of running from it.
47. So that you can think you look good, regardless of what you ate that day.
48. Knowing that a number on a scale does not define you.
49. No more nightmares.
50. Fewer tears.
51. Getting rid of the mask.
52. To finally be able to see yourself realistically.
53. To have your loved ones be proud of you.
54. So that nostalgia won’t hurt anymore.
55. So that you can go to the beach, worry free.
56. To stop hating yourself.
57. So that you will stop pushing everyone away.
58. To feel human.
59. To stop feeling numb.
60. Being able to let people in.
61. No more long sleeves in the summer.
62. To honestly be able to say “I’m good” when people ask how you are.
63. To stop the pain.
64. Do it because you can.
65. Wasting less time in front of the mirror.
66. To be able to say you won.
67. So you can exercise again just for the love of it and not for how many calories it burns.
68. To enjoy holidays again.
69. So you can finally throw away the razors.
70. To have control of your life.
71. To gain respect.
72. To know you aren’t a failure.
73. To earn trust.
74. To not worry about hurting others around you.
75. To watch your scars fade and to not want to create new ones.
76. Because your scars shouldn’t define your future.
77. To feel good about yourself for a change.
78. So that you can get attention for the right reasons.
79. So you’re no longer afraid of the failure.
80. To be able to think clearly again.
81. To not hate getting up in the mornings or going to bed at night.
82. To be able to say “I survived”.
83. So you can feel grateful for every day, instead of wanting it to end.
84. So that you can say “I was” instead of “I am”.
85. So that you can let go of the past, live in the present, and embrace the future.
86. To finally experience what years of fighting was for, and know that it was worth it.
87. So that you will stop apologizing.
88. No more hunger pangs.
89. To not be afraid of yourself in the afternoons.
90. To wake up in the morning and not feel sick.
91. To be able to be independent.
92. Because you might finally be able to tell them what happened to you. To receive the support you deserve.
93. Because there are other ways to express how you are really feeling.
94. Feeling loved and wanted instead of lost and forgotten.
95. Because life is about more than pain.
96. So that you can stop wishing you were dead, and start wishing for the better things that you truly deserve to have.
97. To know that you are as important as everyone else in the world.
98. Because fuck what the others think.
99. To finally have people talk to you as a person, and not be focused on your disorder.
100. To be able to educate people.
101. So you can find your purpose.
102. No more feelings as though everyone is watching you.
103. To see that you’re strong enough to do anything.
104. To finally be in charge of what you eat instead of your eating disorder.
105. Because counting how many months you’ve been recovered is infinitely more gratifying than counting how many calories you hate yourself for eating.
106. So you never have to see your parents cry again when they just don’t know how to help you.
107. So you can appreciate the company of your friends and family without feeling like a burden.
108. Because you’re more than a victim. You’re a survivor.
109. To be able to find the beauty in everything.
110. To prove to yourself that you are capable.
111. So you can roll up your sleeves when it gets hot.
112. To be able to say “I never want to go back”.
113. To make the world a better place by being your unique self.
114. To be able to look at your past as history.
115. To feel something other than pain.
116. So you don’t feel guilty when people tell you you’re “doing well”.
117. So that your future is no longer tainted by your past.
118. To come back stronger.
119. So you won’t feel frail.
120. To be allowed in the bathroom with the door closed.
121. To have faith in yourself.
122. So you can look at yourself in the mirror without feeling like crying.
123. So you can see, feel, and experience that life is beautiful, despite- and because- of pain.
124. Because being the depressed creative genius isn’t nearly as fun or as fascinating as it looks in movies.
125. To be able to make decisions.
126. So you don’t have to be afraid that crying will lead to something else.
127. To reward yourself for progress made in recovery.
128. To see different as good.
129. Because you are enough.
130. To hold your diploma on graduation day.
131. Because knowing without the slightest doubts that you’re okay is a feeling you’ll never get tired of.
132. Because you have more to live for.
133. No more cutting apples with butter knives.
134. To not feel ashamed of yourself.
135. To be able to think long term.
136. To be a good role model.
137. So the ones you love will stop blaming themselves.
138. No more covering up.
139. Because there are so many other things to think about.
140. To not feel scared when you leave the house.
141. So not every day is a struggle.
142. Because you don’t just want to think there is a better life for yourself after recovery. You want to live it.
143. So the people around you won’t feel like they are “walking on eggshells”.
144. To not be afraid of something that’s so essential to living.
145. To collect a lifetime’s worth of books.
146. To be able to move forward.
147. To be more productive with your time.
148. Because you need to love yourself before being able to truly love someone else.
149. To live to tell your story.
150. Because you can’t help others if you’re dead.
151. Because life is fuller when you’re full.
152. Because life is better without an addiction.
153. To not waste opportunities.
154. To embrace how strong you’ve been for staying alive.
155. So you can look forward to the good times.
156. Because you want to make a difference.
157. Because you have the future to look forward to.
158. Because there’s something better in store for you.
159. Because there is more to life than this.
160. Because you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired.
161. Because you’ve survived too much to die from these disorders.
162. So you won’t feel like you’re a burden.
163. Because all your quirks make you you and that’s totally normal.
164. To feel complete.
165. To be able to focus at work and do a good job.
166. To be happy for others’ success, instead of feeling jealousy.
167. Because when you talk about your future you want to actually believe you’ll get there.
168. Because you am more than my diagnoses.
169. To stop feeling helpless.
170. For all the things you haven’t done.
171. To be able to do things without worrying if you’re being judged.
172. Because hating yourself is exhausting.
173. Because it was not your fault.
174. Because you’re anything but weak.
175. Because you only have one life to live.
176. To be able to go to bed at night without worrying that you may never wake up.
177. To stop fearing yourself.
178. Because you don’t deserve to be anxious and scared all the time.
179. Because there are other ways to comfort yourself.
180. Because you don’t want to spend the rest of your life lining up medication bottles.
181. To show that you can win the battles you may have lost to your addiction in the past.
182. Because being the “good child” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
183. To no longer have anxiety over little everyday things.
184. Because if you can do this, you can do anything.
185. To sleep through the night.
186. So your social anxiety can stop taking over your life.
187. Because you am not damaged.
188. Because happiness is the best revenge.
189. So you don’t need to go back to bed again just to stop the panic.
190. So you feel normal and successful for someone your age.
191. So you never believe the lies again.
192. So you are not afraid to have your own style.
193. No more hospitals.
194. So people can see the good that’s in you.
195. For time not to pass by so fast with nothing to mark it.
196. To find more positive people to be around.
197. To want to wake up every morning.
198. To be staff at the hospital, not the patient.
199. So you know what you really like and dislike, not just what your anxiety and ED likes and dislikes.
200. To feel healthy.
201. Because you are no longer willing to torture yourself.
202. Because your self esteem should not depend on your weight.
203. So people will stop saying you’re using your disorder as an “excuse”.
204. To actually have motivation to get up in the morning.
205. So your disorders are a part of your past, not your future.
206. To feel safe in your own skin.
207. To experience a full and meaningful life.

 

Ready to give recovery from an eating disorder or disordered eating a shot? In search of an experienced eating disorder registered dietitian in the Centerport, New York area or virtually? Send Christina an email to learn more about 1:1 nutrition therapy sessions!