Hello Me: Finding Myself after an Eating Disorder

I am recovered from anorexia and bulimia. "Recovered," as in, I no longer have an eating disorder. (Period.) Instead, I have a life filled with joy and peace.

Today, I write and speak about eating disorders to give hope to those still struggling. My first book, Life Without Ed: How One Woman Declared Independence from Her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too ("Ed" is an insider nickname for "eating disorder"), explores the nuts and bolts of recovery. My new book, Goodbye Ed, Hello Me: Recover from Your Eating Disorder and Fall in Love with Life (to be released by McGraw-Hill in September 2009) goes far beyond recovery and dives into what it means to be fully recovered. Goodbye Ed, Hello Me is more about life, less about Ed. And that is what I envision for this blog: a focus on life after an eating disorder rather than the basics of recovery.

In this blog, I might sometimes post things that have nothing at all to do with having an eating disorder. The fact is that we recover from our eating disorders and recover ourselves. In life after my eating disorder, I have so much more to write about than just Ed. I finally have a life -- that I love -- to talk about. So, here, I might write about music, mountain biking, a guy I'm dating, or adventures related to home buying. (I am looking into buying my first house!)

This blog is for those who have been touched by an eating disorder and for everyone else, too. We all have "issues" whether they center around food or not. And we all need to learn how to let go, get healthy, and find our true selves. A self that has always been there but we never knew. Or possibly a self that we lost as a child or at some other time.

My new book is called Goodbye Ed, Hello Me, and this blog is more about the "Hello Me" part. If you are battling an eating disorder and still trying to say "goodbye Ed," this blog will help you, too, by providing inspiration to move forward in recovery and to jump into life. For more specifics about the "Goodbye Ed" part of my work, you might also want to visit my website at www.JenniSchaefer.com or check out my Recovery Support blog at www.EatingDisordersBlogs.com.

This blog is about the next phase of eating disorder recovery. I hope you will come along for the ride!

Follow Jenni Schaefer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JenniSchaefer

Comments

[Elizabeth Short]

Thank you, Jenni, for being such an inspiration. I have had an eating disorder for 16 years and have been in and out of treatment for the past five years. Working towards recovery is by far the hardest thing I've ever done and hopefully the hardest thing I'll ever have to do. For you to say that you are "recovered" gives me such hope. I've been thinking- as some professionals say- that I'll always have an eating disorder and have to learn how to manage it. But it is nice to think someday I might be eating disorder free. Thank you for all that you do to raise awareness on the subject.

Elizabeth

[Jenni Schaefer - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks so much for sharing your comments. Please stay tuned and comment again. I want this blog to be a community for discussion about complete recovery and full living.

- Jenni

[Jill Prager]

I think it's amazing that women or men who recover from disease, especially from disordered eating, can continue their journey through life and give hope to those still suffering. I commend you and all of the others who have made a commitment to themselves and to others in the world to show that there IS life after ED. What an amazing concept... I always thought my life = ED. I know this was a false manifestation, but alas, how was I to know while fully immersed with him, Ms. Perfectionist and of course my very own Mr. OCD. Thank you for your writing, for your reaching out and for your recovery. I look very forward to seeing how you, personally, live life after ED. :)

[shea-marie]

write* wow.

[shea-marie]

Jenni,

You always seem to right exactly what I need to read at exactly the right moments. I look forward to reading more about "LIFE...beyond ED" :) Thanks for being such an inspiration.

~Shea-Marie