BRAVE

I wanted to discuss being brave.  This really resonates with me and recovery.  If you are in recovery or recovered that is brave.  Not everyone can do something challeneging as recovering from an eating disorder.  It's one of the hardest and most difficult tasks you will ever have to go through...you are brave!

I love the song "Brave" it has so much meaning with me as my friend who passed away from an eating disorder this last December would dance to this song.  She loved to just dance.  It also means a lot to recovery for me.  I hope it does the same for you...and remember that RECOVERY IS POSSIBLE!!!

Click on the link below to see video

Sara Bareilles - Brave

"BRAVE"

By: Sara Bareilles

You can be amazing
You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug
You can be the outcast
Or be the backlash of somebody’s lack of love
Or you can start speaking up

Nothing’s gonna hurt you the way that words do
When they settle ‘neath your skin
Kept on the inside and no sunlight
Sometimes a shadow wins
But I wonder what would happen if you

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

I just want to see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave

Everybody’s been there,
Everybody’s been stared down by the enemy
Fallen for the fear
And done some disappearing,
Bow down to the mighty
Don’t run, just stop holding your tongue

Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

And since your history of silence
Won’t do you any good,
Did you think it would?
Let your words be anything but empty
Why don’t you tell them the truth?

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
See you be brave

I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you

Things To Remember in Recovery

Things To Remember in Recovery

• Recovery is your first and foremost priority.  It should NEVER come second to anything else in your life. 
• Recovery is a choice that you make every day and it will take one day, one meal, one month, one minute, or one second at a time.
• As long as you are able to  learn from slip-ups, they aren't "failures".
• Being recovered and healthy does not mean that you are happy all the time.
• Even at your lowest weight you will never be satisfied and know that you'll never be happy going that way.
• Recovery is going to be uncomfortable.  Change is uncomfortable.  The discomfort is a sign that you are working on getting better.
• You must do what feels unnatural until it feels natural.
• You must remember that you are getting stronger every day.
• Don't expect immediate results.  Just keep working towards recovery.
• You don't want to be like this when you're thirty, forty etc...The longer that you have the eating disorder the harder it will be to recover, you want to beat this NOW!
• It  takes more to overcome your eating disorder than to remain with your eating disorder.
• Recovery is about make a small series of positive choices over time.
• Even when you can't see the steps that you are making in recovery, they are there.  Remember how far you have come with your recovery process.
• Acceptance and Patience are the key to moving forward; nothing is automatic and everything requires hard work.
• You can't control any of your triggers, but you can control how you react to your triggers.
• Unhealthy behaviors will NEVER accomplish anything-they make far more problems that they solve.
• You can't get rid of any feelings when you are enmeshed with your eating disorder behaviors-instead your are destroying your health.
• Life happens; it's not something to be controlled, quantified, planned, or established.
• Eating does not make you needy or greedy or unexplained; it makes you  live your life.
• There is a  connection between your thoughts, feelings, and actions and your thinking needs to change before your actions can change.
• There is a reason for your pain.  You may not understand what lesson you are being taught, but there is always a lesson behind everything that is happening.
• If you have a bad morning, you can improve the same day.  You don't have to wait to start over tomorrow.
• Everyone falls down, but only the strongest pick themselves up and keep trying at recovery.
• Whether or not you feel like recovering, you need to, and you need to keep faith that happiness is just around to coronor.
• You have to be prepared to give up your eating disorder completely if you want to be recovered-there is no half way point, there is no negation.
• The eating disorder has ruined some wonderful times in your life. You don't want your eating disorder to continue ruining your life.
• If you feel the feeling you will  feel more "cleansed" than any eating disorder could ever bring you.
• You are more in control what you are doing that is right for you rather than following the evil monster-the eating disorder.
• Life enmeshed in an eating disorder is a scary, but if you don't try at recovery, you will NEVER know there is a whole new world full of life waiting to be discovered.
• This is a fight for your life...you are NOT invincible and your body is NOT resilient
• Your eating disorder leads to noting except 8 feet in the ground and death.
• You cannot have an eating disorder and live life...you have to recover first.
• You can live life to the fullest, there is so much you can do with your life, even if you don't believe it right now. Someday you will believe it.
• You have incredible gifts that you can give back to the world.  It is not a sum, it cannot be quantified.  Your gift to the world can be given each and every day.
• There is so much more in your future than you have ever planned for your life after recovery.

Are You Living Fearlessly?

Are you living your life fearlessly? To me fearless is to be bold, brave, courageous, heroic, daring, unafraid, gutsy, strong, willing heart, and made of gold.  Someone that is fearless is beautiful inside and out,  Able to push through any kind of weathered storm that may arise in their life even a shattered heart, a broken spirit, a truly gifted person in every way that is possible with a contagious smile full of laughter.

If fear didn't exist we wouldn't be able to take risks or challenge ourselves in recovery.  So, what risks are you going to take with your recovery?

Our brains are wired the flight or fight mode.  Knowing when to run from any kind of physical danger that can be a potential harm.   We are wired to be fearful of certain things which is normal such as a tornado.  This is normal and everyone is fearful of events such as this.  Having fear over everything is where we all need to change we just causes more anxiety, fear, rummination, and asking the what if question.  This is not being fearless

When I think of fearless I am reminded of Taylor Swift who is a great example of someone who is fearless. 

“To me, “FEARLESS” is not the absence of fear. It’s not being completely unafraid. To me, FEARLESS is having fears. FEARLESS is having doubts. Lots of them. To me,FEARLESS is living in spite of those things that scare you to death. FEARLESS is falling madly in love again, even though you’ve been hurt before. FEARLESS is walking into your freshmen year of high school at fifteen. FEARLESS is getting back up and fighting for what you want over and over again… even though every time you’ve tried before, you’ve lost. It’s FEARLESS to have faith that someday things will change. FEARLESS is having the courage to say goodbye to someone who only hurts you, even if you can’t breathe without them. I think it’s FEARLESS to fall for your best friend, even though he’s in love with someone else. And when someone apologizes to you enough times for things they’ll never stop doing, I think it’sFEARLESS to stop believing them. It’s FEARLESS to say “you’re NOT sorry”, and walk away. I think loving someone despite what people think is FEARLESS. I think allowing yourself to cry on the bathroom floor is FEARLESS. Letting go is FEARLESS.Then, moving on and being alright…That’s FEARLESS too. But no matter what love throws at you, you have to believe in it. You have to believe in love stories and prince charmings and happily ever after. That’s why I write these songs. Because I think love is FEARLESS.”

~Taylor Swift

Fearless is being in recovery and kicking Ed out of your life for good.  You can be a fearless person and do all the things you want to in life.  Fearless is picking yourself off the ground and starting all over again.  As Taylor Swift says, fearless is having faith that things will some day change...and they will change!