How I Stopped Caring About Being the Thinnest Person in the Room
It hinged on one tangled question and one not-so-easy answer.
I spent nearly 15 years of my life caring more about being thin than I did about my intelligence, my interests, my success, my spirituality, and (clearing my throat as I type this last one), my family and friends.
Without being “Skinny Mikaela,” who was I? Not only was I fearful to find out; I lacked the desire to do so.
My brain had been so hijacked by my eating disorder that I was convinced nothing or no one could ever possibly make me feel as good as being the thinnest person in the room.
Until one day, by the grace of one question and one painfully honest answer, I opened my mind to the possibility that maybe—just maybe—my immensely bruised and contaminated brain was completely full of shit.
And maybe—just maybe—that question might have a similar effect on you.
THE Question
Treatment for any kind of mental illness tends to come with a slew of hard questions and deep introspection. Some of the most common (and very important) ones are:
Why do you want to recover?
