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:
- So you can be the kind of person you’ve always wanted to be.
- So you can move on.
- So you can love yourself.
- So that your story can have a happy ending.
- To be able to feel beautiful in your own skin.
- To inspire someone else.
- So you can stop wishing and start living.
- So you can get your life back.
- To be able to accept love from others.
- So that you don’t become just a memory.
- Because you deserve to be okay.
- You’ve already made it this far. Why give up now?
- So that you can have energy.
- To feel like life is worth living.
- Do it for those who love you.
- Being able to make new friends.
- No more lying to others.
- No more lying to yourself.
- Not feeling alone.
- To be able to smile. Truly smile.
- Because it’s not impossible.
- No more excuses.
- To be able to treat yourself with kindness.
- No more hiding.
- Being able to wear what you want.
- To be able to enjoy food.
- To break the cycle.
- So that you can live up to your full potential.
- Getting your voice back.
- To be able to have a family.
- So that you can have your dream job.
- To be able to sleep at night.
- To be able to forgive yourself.
- To be able to appreciate the life you’ve been given.
- Having control over your thoughts.
- No more isolation.
- To be able to trust yourself.
- To be human and feel the things you’re supposed to feel.
- To stop being embarrassed to be out in public.
- So the good memories outweigh the bad ones.
- To have faith in the future.
- So you can stop being afraid.
- To stop trying to achieve a perfection that is impossible.
- Because hurting yourself won’t suddenly make you the person you want to be.
- To fight for your rights.
- To be able to experience emotion, instead of running from it.
- So that you can think you look good, regardless of what you ate that day.
- Knowing that a number on a scale does not define you.
- No more nightmares.
- Fewer tears.
- Getting rid of the mask.
- To finally be able to see yourself realistically.
- To have your loved ones be proud of you.
- So that nostalgia won’t hurt anymore.
- So that you can go to the beach, worry free.
- To stop hating yourself.
- So that you will stop pushing everyone away.
- To feel human.
- To stop feeling numb.
- Being able to let people in.
- No more long sleeves in the summer.
- To honestly be able to say “I’m good” when people ask how you are.
- To stop the pain.
- Do it because you can.
- Wasting less time in front of the mirror.
- To be able to say you won.
- So you can exercise again just for the love of it and not for how many calories it burns.
- To enjoy holidays again.
- So you can finally throw away the razors.
- To have control of your life.
- To gain respect.
- To know you aren’t a failure.
- To earn trust.
- To not worry about hurting others around you.
- To watch your scars fade and to not want to create new ones.
- Because your scars shouldn’t define your future.
- To feel good about yourself for a change.
- So that you can get attention for the right reasons.
- So you’re no longer afraid of the failure.
- To be able to think clearly again.
- To not hate getting up in the mornings or going to bed at night.
- To be able to say “I survived”.
- So you can feel grateful for every day, instead of wanting it to end.
- So that you can say “I was” instead of “I am”.
- So that you can let go of the past, live in the present, and embrace the future.
- To finally experience what years of fighting was for, and know that it was worth it.
- So that you will stop apologizing.
- No more hunger pangs.
- To not be afraid of yourself in the afternoons.
- To wake up in the morning and not feel sick.
- To be able to be independent.
- Because you might finally be able to tell them what happened to you. To receive the support you deserve.
- Because there are other ways to express how you are really feeling.
- Feeling loved and wanted instead of lost and forgotten.
- Because life is about more than pain.
- So that you can stop wishing you were dead, and start wishing for the better things that you truly deserve to have.
- To know that you are as important as everyone else in the world.
- Because fuck what the others think.
- To finally have people talk to you as a person, and not be focused on your disorder.
- To be able to educate people.
- So you can find your purpose.
- No more feelings as though everyone is watching you.
- To see that you’re strong enough to do anything.
- To finally be in charge of what you eat instead of your eating disorder.
- Because counting how many months you’ve been recovered is infinitely more gratifying than counting how many calories you hate yourself for eating.
- So you never have to see your parents cry again when they just don’t know how to help you.
- So you can appreciate the company of your friends and family without feeling like a burden.
- Because you’re more than a victim. You’re a survivor.
- To be able to find the beauty in everything.
- To prove to yourself that you are capable.
- So you can roll up your sleeves when it gets hot.
- To be able to say “I never want to go back”.
- To make the world a better place by being your unique self.
- To be able to look at your past as history.
- To feel something other than pain.
- So you don’t feel guilty when people tell you you’re “doing well”.
- So that your future is no longer tainted by your past.
- To come back stronger.
- So you won’t feel frail.
- To be allowed in the bathroom with the door closed.
- To have faith in yourself.
- So you can look at yourself in the mirror without feeling like crying.
- So you can see, feel, and experience that life is beautiful, despite- and because- of pain.
- Because being the depressed creative genius isn’t nearly as fun or as fascinating as it looks in movies.
- To be able to make decisions.
- So you don’t have to be afraid that crying will lead to something else.
- To reward yourself for progress made in recovery.
- To see different as good.
- Because you are enough.
- To hold your diploma on graduation day.
- Because knowing without the slightest doubts that you’re okay is a feeling you’ll never get tired of.
- Because you have more to live for.
- No more cutting apples with butter knives.
- To not feel ashamed of yourself.
- To be able to think long term.
- To be a good role model.
- So the ones you love will stop blaming themselves.
- No more covering up.
- Because there are so many other things to think about.
- To not feel scared when you leave the house.
- So not every day is a struggle.
- Because you don’t just want to think there is a better life for yourself after recovery. You want to live it.
- So the people around you won’t feel like they are “walking on eggshells”.
- To not be afraid of something that’s so essential to living.
- To collect a lifetime’s worth of books.
- To be able to move forward.
- To be more productive with your time.
- Because you need to love yourself before being able to truly love someone else.
- To live to tell your story.
- Because you can’t help others if you’re dead.
- Because life is fuller when you’re full.
- Because life is better without an addiction.
- To not waste opportunities.
- To embrace how strong you’ve been for staying alive.
- So you can look forward to the good times.
- Because you want to make a difference.
- Because you have the future to look forward to.
- Because there’s something better in store for you.
- Because there is more to life than this.
- Because you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired.
- Because you’ve survived too much to die from these disorders.
- So you won’t feel like you’re a burden.
- Because all your quirks make you you and that’s totally normal.
- To feel complete.
- To be able to focus at work and do a good job.
- To be happy for others’ success, instead of feeling jealousy.
- Because when you talk about your future you want to actually believe you’ll get there.
- Because you am more than my diagnoses.
- To stop feeling helpless.
- For all the things you haven’t done.
- To be able to do things without worrying if you’re being judged.
- Because hating yourself is exhausting.
- Because it was not your fault.
- Because you’re anything but weak.
- Because you only have one life to live.
- To be able to go to bed at night without worrying that you may never wake up.
- To stop fearing yourself.
- Because you don’t deserve to be anxious and scared all the time.
- Because there are other ways to comfort yourself.
- Because you don’t want to spend the rest of your life lining up medication bottles.
- To show that you can win the battles you may have lost to your addiction in the past.
- Because being the “good child” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
- To no longer have anxiety over little everyday things.
- Because if you can do this, you can do anything.
- To sleep through the night.
- So your social anxiety can stop taking over your life.
- Because you am not damaged.
- Because happiness is the best revenge.
- So you don’t need to go back to bed again just to stop the panic.
- So you feel normal and successful for someone your age.
- So you never believe the lies again.
- So you are not afraid to have your own style.
- No more hospitals.
- So people can see the good that’s in you.
- For time not to pass by so fast with nothing to mark it.
- To find more positive people to be around.
- To want to wake up every morning.
- To be staff at the hospital, not the patient.
- So you know what you really like and dislike, not just what your anxiety and ED likes and dislikes.
- To feel healthy.
- Because you are no longer willing to torture yourself.
- Because your self esteem should not depend on your weight.
- So people will stop saying you’re using your disorder as an “excuse”.
- To actually have motivation to get up in the morning.
- So your disorders are a part of your past, not your future.
- To feel safe in your own skin.
- 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!
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