We are all storytellers here. We all have stories to tell. And our own personal stories can bring us closer together. Our stories have the power to enlighten others, to empower others, to offer support to others, to help heal others. I hope that you will find someone’s story here that you can connect with, or that you can learn from their experiences. Remember that you are never alone. Remember that you can make a difference. Remember that your story deserves to be heard.
Tell your story. Let yourself be seen, and let others see themselves in you. Whatever your story, there is a way for your story to make a difference. We need you.
There is space for your story to matter, even if not everyone can relate and to also maintain space for those who don’t relate to feel heard and respected.
“It all started as a diet in order to fit better within the beauty standards”
My striving for perfection morphed my so-called healthy habits into a coping mechanism that allowed me to take control of the one thing I still had power over, while everything else was slowly unravelling due to COVID-19.
“I have felt many times that my home is a toxic place”
I told her I did not support that idea, ran to my room, and cried…the diet-culture industry has shaped many minds like my mother’s and my other family members into believing their worth is dictated by their appearance.
“It took saying ‘I have an eating disorder’ before I could decide that I wanted to recover”
I know that I’m not to blame for not receiving adequate support, that weight stigma, preconceived notions of eating disorder stereotypes and the terrible mental health services at my school were responsible for this.
“Where was my skin color and hair texture?”
Think about how even when there are Black characters, the norm is to have them as side characters or with light skin and long hair. This just isn’t the reality of many Black girls. Sometimes our hair is really short and “unruly”; it’s not like the pictures…
“As males, we grow up in a world which produces a lot of toxic masculinity.”
It isn’t fair for us because we are often laughed at and told to “man up” but all we really want is to be able to talk with someone. We want nothing more than to share our feelings, but instead we are told…
“Screw beauty standards, they have nothing on you”
So I tried to change, and your body doesn’t work like that. You can’t want to change and be happy with it. Your mind becomes mentally consumed with an eating disorder…