The Torture That Took Me 26 Years to Heal From
The stories you tell yourself matter and they can be transformed.
I’ve shared my life story many times. You may have heard about the mental illness, or the near-miss with cancer, or the failed businesses, or the unemployment, or the multiple breakups.
I’ve been lying to you though.
I’ve never shared the full story without the convenient edits. It’s time I do this even though it’s raw, confronting, and going to hurt.
Here is my life told through the mini-stories I used to tell myself. See if a few of them ring true for you.
“I have an eating disorder.”
For most of my life, I suffered from an eating disorder. Once I turned twenty, things got really bad. I threw up in the bathroom of my 21st birthday dinner for no reason at all. My girlfriend dumped me shortly after because she couldn’t work out why I was always sick around mealtime.
I was too scared to tell her. How do you communicate that every time you go to eat you feel sick, but when you eat alone you feel fine? I had no idea how to explain it so I didn’t tell anybody. I hid the truth and let it ruin friendships, family, my life, romantic relationships, and even my career.
