Welcome to the blog space of the Looking Glass community, where we post our own and others’ reflections and perspectives on eating disorder issues, journeys of recovery, and other helpful tips and tools.
Advice by Kaela: How To Set Boundaries While Not Ruining Friendships
Q: I know a few people who have recovered and they keep trying to tell me how it needs to be done. I don’t want to be rude but I am tired of being told how my recovery needs to look. It is made more difficult because these people have actually been through it. How do I set boundaries in a way that doesn’t ruin the friendship?
As someone who has had an eating disorder, I know what it’s like to wake every day facing an internal battle. Throughout my recovery, I had many relapses. Early on, I would always tell myself: “this is the last time,” and I wouldn’t tell anyone what I was going through. I didn’t think anyone would understand, and I was afraid of being judged.
On Friday April 6th, we hosted our 14th Annual Fundraising Gala — and what a beautiful, love-fuelled night it was! Over 300 guests joined us at the Rocky Mountaineer Station for this year's event, whose hopeful theme was All You Need Is Love.
Q: I feel really adamant about not letting my family doctor know about my eating disorder but my family has basically given me an ultimatum that either I have to tell him or they will because they feel my health is at risk. I am not sure what to do.
It's been nearly ten years since I recovered from my past eating disorder.
This fact hit me the other day and I must admit, it made me very proud of myself. Proud of the work I did in that time of my life to better my future. It's strange; I feel so far removed from that part of my life, and feel like I am a completely different person looking back on that experience. My life is far beyond what I imagined was possible when I was 18, and my past self would be amazed at where I am today; not because of anything specific I've done that has been truly incredible, more so that I'm a functioning, independent adult who enjoys life and has ambitions. Yet that time of my life was a huge part of my developmental years and it would be unreasonable to completely dismiss it, as it is a part of my identity.
Self-Love has been a major buzz topic that has come up over the past few years. The fact that there is so much attention being paid to this term signals that people are very interested in, and intrigued by, the idea of loving… ourselves?
A catalytic moment in my recovery was when I realized that I had been trying too hard to assimilate my present and future with my past. What does this mean?
Q: I keep hearing that recovery is about taking little steps forward but every step feels overwhelming. What should I do?
A: There are so many different messages we hear during recovery about what we have/need/should do to make recovery our reality.
As I am sitting here on an early Wednesday morning, one hand holding my coffee and the other tapping furiously away on the keyboard, I am reflecting on how my body feels in the current space it occupies...
I don’t have Netflix, so I haven’t seen “To the Bone,” the latest “anorexic drama” starring Lily Collins. I don’t think I want to; it looks stupid and stereotypical. But the pictures of Collins, pretty and pale-cheeked in her oversized hospital gown, her face perfectly made up …
Looking Glass Foundation respectfully acknowledges that our work takes place on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
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