National Eating Disorder Awareness Week

Las week was National Eating Disorder Awareness week! This year’s theme was Come As You Are. Take a moment to reflect on what “Come As You Are” means for you.

We had our staff explore what it means to them, here are some of the responses below:

“For me, “come as you are” means accepting myself for who I am, who I was, and who I can choose to be. It means living life as my authentic self with unconditional permission. It means accepting others for who they truly are. To embrace our differences. And to build connections for who we are, not how we look”.
-Emily Baum, Lead Registered Dietitian

“Come As You Are” means to me that the person I am is perfectly whole at any given moment. I use to walk around trying to ‘BE’ the person that I thought I needed to be in order to fit the preconceived molds that I thought were ‘right and acceptable’. As time went on and I explored the depths of my own heart, I realized that I’m whole and perfect, in every moment. “Coming As I Am” is not a destination, it’s not stagnant. It changes as I change. It grows as I grow. I get to “Come As I Am” in any given moment if I’ve given myself the space to accept WHO I AM FULLY, at any given moment.
– Tess Patterson, Registered Dietitian

“Come As You Are” means we can stop trying to be perfect. Life is beautiful even when it is messy.
-Emily T, Registered Nurse Supervisor

“For me, “come as you are” is about embracing yourself, your weaknesses; your strengths; the crazy and the beauty. With that, you are able to fully be you! Be the light of your own world; work to be better and work to become who you want to be -not what someone has molded you to be.”
-Alex W., Senior Admissions Coordinator

“Come as you are means we accept you at your best AND worst”.
-Olivia W., Recovery Coach

“Come as you are means we accept who you are”.
-Carol A., Registered Nurse

“Come as you are to me means to always remember that I am enough just the way that I am. To remember that I am made authentically. There’s nobody else like me. I shine my own light.”
– Carolyn S., Registered Nurse

“Come As You Are means being my most authentic self. I define this as being present in the moment, experiencing my emotions, and sharing that honestly with others.”
-Samantha G., Admissions Coordinator

“Come As You Are means to come authentically, openly, and unapologetically.”
-Anonymous

“Come As You Are tells us that whatever ways we choose to show up for one another is exactly enough. Displaying ourselves authentically-whatever that means for you-means that showing our truth is always a flawless culmination of our storied pasts, the unbreakable present, and excitement of our soon-to-comes.”
-Jennifer D., Recovery Coach

Help us celebrate NEDA week by spreading the message that all stories are worth hearing! According to the National Eating Disorder Association, you can help spread awareness by doing the following:

“#ComeAsYouAre on Instagram is an easy and fun way to help us start a conversation about what things we can be proud to share. This is how you get involved:

1. WRITE a few things you like about yourself on a t-shirt, a piece of paper, or on your body.

Need some ideas? Start by listing a few things you like about yourself (your body, your personality, your milestones in recovery, the community you identify with, etc.). 

2. TAKE a photo of yourself wearing the t-shirt, holding the piece of paper, or showing your “body art.”

3. SHARE your picture on Instagram (Facebook & Twitter, too!) with a caption explaining why you chose the words you did and what this year’s #ComeAsYouAre theme means to you. Don’t forget to include the official campaign hashtags: #NEDAwareness & #ComeAsYouAre!

4. TAG @neda and three people who inspire you to “come as you are,” and challenge them to join the movement!

We understand this campaign might be challenging, so be sure you’re taking care of yourself first when deciding whether and how to participate! And, most importantly, have fun with it!”

References

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/blog/comeasyouare-instagram-nedawareness-week