Say No

What if we could just say no.  What if you could just tell you mind that you weren't interested in what it's selling.  That's what the alcoholics do isn't it.  They learn to just walk past the bar.  They learn to change their playground.  They learn to change their playmates.  They learn to just say no.  The argument has always been that you can't say no to food.  It's not the same as alcohol.  We need to eat.  But, what if we could just say no.

You can't say no to food.  For some, saying no to food is what got this whole thing so screwy in the first place.  You can say no to your eating disorder.  Your eating disorder is just a system of predictable thoughts that have learned to have a system of predictable behaviors.  An alcoholic learns that walking in to a bar produces a system of predictable results.  On the other end of the bottle are blackouts, fights with family, possibly domestic altercations, losses of jobs, etc..  What's on the other end of the predictable behaviors of your eating disorder?

Follow your thoughts for a minute.  I sign up to believe I'm not perfect- let's pretend this is purely a body image comment (even though we know this type of thought is triggered from a real life interpretation of not being perfect at something unrelated to body image).  What quickly follows is restriction- an effort to perfect the body.  Think about how this done.  Manipulation.  Isolation.  Shrinking life down- or likely there isn't much life going on already.  Signing up to listen to the messages of not being perfect lead to what is on the other end.

Saying no isn't easy.  It's hard when your mind is yelling at you to not eat that one more bite.  It's hard when that one more bite says you won't be perfect.  It's what eating that one more bite might also mean.  It might mean the end of isolation.  It might mean no longer participating in manipulation.  It might mean living life.  It might mean choices and strength.  It might mean a life without fear.  Say no.

Don't say no to food.  It's not toxic like alcohol.  Say no to your eating disorder.  Say no to letting your life be controlled by something that no longer has your best interest.  Say no to not believing in your own power.  Say no to letting someone else tell you how you need to be and hiding behind it.  Say yes to yourself.  Say yes to your choices.  Say yes to believing in your own power.  Being empowered is beautiful.  Don't let your eating disorder rob you of the opportunity to show the world your power.  Be your own superhero.