How often do you feel alone in your struggles, healing, and growth? Do you feel like you’re the only one who struggles and no one can relate to you?
When you’re struggling with an eating disorder – or any major struggle – it can feel so isolating. It can be so easy to feel like you are the only one who struggles. It can be so easy to feel like no one else understands what you are going through. And it can be so easy to keep everything inside because you don’t want anyone to know that you are struggling. I get it. When I struggled with an eating disorder, it was so easy to feel like I was alone in it. I felt like I was the only one who struggled and like no one would understand how I was feeling or what I was struggling with. When you feel like this it’s a really lonely place to be. Even though I had wonderful friends and was around people a lot, I felt alone and isolated because of my struggle. The people that I was around didn’t know that I was struggling,and so I felt lonely a lot of the time.
I want you to know that all of these feelings are normal. It’s normal for you to feel alone, isolated, and like no one else understands.
BUT, it’s SO important for you to know that you are never alone. You are NOT alone. You are not alone in your struggles. You are not alone in your feelings. And you are not alone in the journey of trying to heal and recover. One of the reasons that I talk about my struggles, the things I’ve struggled with, my healing journey, and things I’m working through, is because I want you to know that you’re not alone.
Unfortunately, not many people talk about their struggles. I think that right now more people are open and honest about mental health struggles, eating disorders, and life in general, which is amazing.
But, it’s not always common for people to talk about their struggles. It’s not always common for people to show the real, messy side of life. And because of that, it’s easy to feel alone. That’s one reason I use my voice to talk about the hard things – because we ALL have hard things, and I believe that it’s healthy and helpful for healing when we can be open and honest about those hard things.
So first off, please know that you are NOT alone. Second off, know that every single person struggles and has bad days – even if they don’t talk about it or show it. Please never feel less than or like you’re not doing a good enough job just because you see someone else showing all of the good in their life. You are doing amazing. You are on your own journey. And if someone is portraying that their life is perfect and they don’t struggle, then they’re lying. Remember this as you’re on social media or scrolling through posts. Not everything is as it seems, and we all have struggles. And please feel empowered to talk about your struggles. Even if it’s not online or to a large audience, find someone that you can talk to who will listen. I am always here if you need someone to talk to.
Talking through your struggles can help to make you feel less alone, more seen, and more encouraged.
Above all, remember that you’re not alone, healing is a journey, you are worth it, and food wants to be your friend!
Abby Horst
A podcaster, wife, health/wellness coach, beach lover, and musician. She specialises in nutrition education, meal planning, and developing sustainable habits. She passionately works with her patients to help them build healthier and happier relationships with food, exercise, and themselves.
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