TASK 1/6 - Arguing back against the eating disorder Voice.
I'm glad you came by this thread. I just want you to know - You are not alone.
Im Mimi. Im not my Eating disorder… You arent either.
A little background information:
I have struggled with an eating disorder for a fair chunk of my life now, and to this day residues of it remain and come up when they are triggered. I only started to understand it recently, when I came across a piece of paper I tore years back. That piece of paper reflects my lowest time, when the ED voice almost consumed all of me. That piece of paper contained obscene messages to remind myself that I must Restrict, resist and reframe from consuming food. Only now have I started to realize the damage I caused myself, the extent to which I let it get out of hand. Where did this realization come from? To be completely honest with you, I have no idea. I think the fact that I have the most caring listener, as a member on 7 cups is the biggest reason as to why I started looking at this with a more optimistic and growth mindset.
The more I look at it, the more I realized how important understanding the eating disorder within you is. It can be hard to avoid that saboteur who overlaps your healthy voice, you. But I believe you have the ability to honestly go through these SIX TASKS, whilst deeply, truly reflect on them all. Reflection allows for understanding, and understanding allows us to begin the process of recovery by giving us the initial mark, the starting point.
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The RULES:
Try your best to partake in all the six tasks that will be posted on different days.
You may share your responses on here, or your thoughts if youd like. But since this is a personal journey, no one is forced to do anything they arent ready or willing to do.
Lets remain supportive and encouraging to all responses! We are together in this Journey.
Please do not encourage the act of restricting, binging, purging, or any negative behavior.
Lets try to keep responses with mere details, to avoid getting yourself or others triggered! This is a safe zone, where your feelings and thoughts matter most!
Dont let that ED voice overtake your beautiful healthy voice. We want to hear you, and I know your true voice is still there; we are all here to help bring it out again!
TASK ONE- Counteracting the ED voice.
Its time to get those thinking caps on! And talk back at that voice! Talk your hearts back to the voice that has been holding you back from recovery.
Remember to remain honest with yourself; this exercise should come from YOU. No one is going to be reading your responses, doing this will allow one to understand what their eating disorder is telling them about themselves and to what extent that negative voice has been affecting their mood and overall emotional state.
That eating disorder voice tells me things like how I am Worthless and how Ive lost Control over it, all of this just ends up ruining my relationships with others, and keeps me feeling guilty and in bed all day.
Something we can do to overcome all these negative thoughts, emotions and actions is to learn the process of speaking back to them! Imagine your ED as a bully, a bully who wants to ruin your life, and make sure you suffer the remaining time. Look at yourself as one who will speak up against the bully! Chins high! Lets begin the task.
I want you to split a page into two columns. The first column represents your eating disorders voice- the negative thoughts, and in the second column, your true inner voice- the positive thoughts will be expressed. When any negative thought comes in mind write it down following an argument to negate it. If you would like, you can share one example on this thread. Here is my example.
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Not me:
Mimi, you ate so much today, you can see your stomach bulging! How ugly!
Me:
Mimi, you did not eat so much today, you ate perfectly healthy! And you enjoyed the beautiful fruit salad your lovely mother prepared for you with so much love!! I feel active, rejuvenated, healthy and beautiful!
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Is it hard? YES! It can be horribly difficult at first, but we all have that potential, that spark which will cause the flame to burn! And keeping at it is the only way it will become more natural. There are times I forced myself to believe how horrible and fake my true voice is, but I kept forcing those positive counteracts against the negative thoughts till I realized that my true voice was just suppressed by this saboteur.
It's hard to counteract the negative thought, what do I do? I began by simply negating the negative thought- For example
Not Me:
"I am Lazy"
Me:
I am not lazy! I do so much each day and get exhausted by evening!
Sometimes it can be hard to be in your own shoes and argue back with your ED voice, it may help if you look at it in a friends perspective, a friend who cares for you and stands besides you when a bully is around. What would your friend say to a bully who is trying to bring you down?
I believe you have the ability to bring back that personal healthy voice out and shining again, and small exercises like this can help bring in the realization that I am NOT my Eating disorder.
Keep a look out for Task 2/6. It will be up some day soon. Much love. Share your thoughts below, I would love to read each and every word of it! You matter so much, Your ideas matter so much, You are beautiful! I care for you, We care for you! and We want to hear your precious voice.
I love this! And I am super excited to see the other steps :)
I love this! I've been struggling with my ED a bit more lately, so I'm looking forward to participating in these activities. Here is my example:
My ED: Michele, you have way too many emotions right now. If you binge, you'll feel better and you can just get rid of all of that by throwing up! If you put the water and fan on no one will hear you. Just do it!
Me: Michele, eating through your emotions will only give you temporary relief and you will ultimately feel worse. It's ok to feel your emotions, think about them, and then use a coping skill to get through. If you still feel hungry after this, you are actually hungry and it is OK to have a snack!
@MovingForward23
Michele, this is beautiful! Im glad you partook in the task. Its such a big step. You having that ability to counteract and argue against that saboteur gives me and many others hope, that we can change, we can bring back that beautiful inner voice. I will be gone for a few weeks due to some issues, but at the same time I really want to bring out the other 5 tasks, Just because I know souls like yourself will take the steps!...
Not me: You haven't exercised for ages, you're so fat and lazy.
Me: Your depression is exhausting enough without adding exercise on top, you're doing your best and if just getting out of bed is a struggle then you can't be expected to exercise as well.
@LittleLotte
I feel so empowered seeing you take this step! Your body deserves to rest! and telling yourself it's okay helps quite down the negative voice. Well done! I hope you are proud of yourself, because I am proud of you! 
Keep arguing with that voice, soon you will see it fade away.
@MimiBliss Thank you. I put 'exercise' on my to-do list every day but haven't actually done it for a few weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to start doing some gentle yoga again soon.
ED Goblin - Your greedy, you dont need to eat that, your big enough as it is, and if you eat that you will put on even more weight, you will be socially unacceptable, you will be a monster, you will take up way too much room you wont fit in your clothes and people will stare at you in disgust
Me: Whilst you make your feelings very clear and very loud, it is not greedy to eat regularly, bodies like cars need fuel, without it, the car dies and so will the body. I am acceptable as I am, people accept me for who I am not what I look like. I am not a monster.
@dancingRainbow45
Just like all the others I read, this gave me joy. It's unique. It's you fighting back against that ED Goblin! I love it.. Proud of you for taking a big step! Keep fighting and arguing against that bully, soon enough you will hear your own healthy voice shine bright with might!
I love this!! It's a fantastic idea
Not Me (ED): Your stomach is too big for your body. You don't deserve to eat anymore today.
Me: I need to eat when I am hungry to fuel my body. Without food, I won't be able to get through the day or do as well in my studies as I would like.
@beautifulKoala49
YES! I am so happy you love it! Your body needs the fuel and you know that! The ED Voice will never silence you, because your beautiful inner voice will constantly shine and silence it! Keep strong, stay courageous.. I believe in you.
Ed: your belly looks disgusting and cellulitey why did u have that icecream and cake
me: because it was good and my belly looks fine
ed: no it's so disgusting you need to start going to the gym and fixing that
me: I don't think it looks that bad I think it looks bad but not so bad that nobody will like me
ed: you should go look at it to remind yourself how horrible it looks and that no one would like that especially that guy your talking to
me: I'm not going to look at it right now because your in my head. I'm going to go for a walk or go to the gym
ed: fine but your only goon because you know I'm right that it's so disgusting and fatty
me: maybe but either way I'm not going to looo at my belly right now
@Tori0707 proud of your positive voice!
@Tori0707
Wow, it seems like that ED voice has been trying it's best to take control over you, and silence your PURE inner voice, but I am amazed at how you've been able to counteract it, until it decides to give up in the end, you're right, you don't need to worry about how you're looking, what you ate, whether you go to the gym or not, that voice is just trying to bring down your worth, and inner peace. I am definitely proud of you for being able to do it! Keep going! I know you'd be one victorious person in the end of this, with a healthy voice that flourishes without being stopped by that ED voice!
Well done for having the courage to partake in this task, check out task 2 if you wish to give it a shot!
I hope I'm doing it right. Might be explicit, though.
ED: Are you a food slut? Are you really going to take orders from a plate?
Me: The plate isn't talking to me. I'm hungry, and that's all I have to eat.
ED: No man wants to bang a tub of Crisco who shovels food in their mouth like you. Men want discipline. Discipline doesn't mean shoving random stuff in your mouth.
Me: If someone is that vain to get upset over weight, that's their fault. Besides, no girl or guy wants to be with a skeleton or someone who is dying. Speaking of discipline, it takes discipline to get straight As in school. Who did that? That's right, me.
@ErwineRommel
Hey there, Erwine!
You did it perfectly! There is no right or wrong, so well done for giving the task a shot! Our ED voice can get as explicit as you may have put it there, and It's safe to say, many may be able to relate to how intimidating and controlling the voice can get, how loud it can sound to us.
It truly is interesting to compare and contrast both voices, I find that the ED voice makes assumptions on what OTHERS want, while your healthy voice shifts that focus to what you need. I love how you're showing that saboteur who's boss! Yes, you were able to achieve those straight A's in school, though a big accomplish, do you think they still define you and how disciplined you might be? Would love to hear your thoughts on that!
Thank you so much for having the courage to share both voices! ^_^ It's takes a lot to do so, well done! I am proud of you. If you feel like you're up for it, do check out task 2!
@MimiBliss
NOT ME:-
Hey, Leo.. you have those laxative pills in the drawer, why don't you go there, take a couple of pills, and let all those fats, and junk you ate earlier flush out! don't you want to lose some weight real quick, don't you want to see your ribs again.. look at your fat self sleeping all day, get up and punish yourself for letting yourself go.
ME:
Leo.. look, you know how harsh laxative pills are, you know how much your stomach hurts when you consume them, you know the severe pain that comes with it, you know how they left you unconscious because of the unbearable cramps that came with it. Just let the urge pass.. don't take the pills, you're enough, if you want to lose weight again, do it the healthy way, you know laxatives aren't going to help you lose any fats, all they do is get rid of the water weight, which will eventually be restored. Please.. listen to me, your healthy voice. I don't want you to go through the pain again. I don't want you to fall into laxative abuse again.
Very great post Mimi!! Lots of great and insightful information that the community can benefit from! Thanks for making this fantastic post!!