Small Victories
Happy Recovery Month! As part of our celebrations, let's share some small victories here and in the feed!
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In eating disorder recovery, sometimes it's the little, day-to-day victories that mean the most, so I wanted to create a thread for us to share those.
I'll start. Yesterday at a football watch party, I let go of my hang-up about cream-cheese based dips (I know, weirdly specific, but there it is) and ate some delicious cheesecake dip that a friend made that normally I wouldn't have let myself have. Yum!
I wanted to tag in some people I've seen around the eating disorder forums or chats and see if any of you had any victories you wanted to share so we can cheer you on!
@th3commonc0ld @bravemelon7408 @lostinthedarkness @manga30 @decembernight0608 @convivialfriend25 @quintessence @midniteangel @alexlove @spookytea @georgie4 @newromantic677 @kellyleon @jellen @bellathefetus66 @LFB @eponinedream @calmskies1996 @burninggirl @sarann @moonbaby9574 @underthesilvermoon @achickenugget @newfelicity @cheskia
I'm in recovery from anorexia. Today I ate more than I planned. Hah... I don't know, like I said, I'm still in recovery and I'm not sure still do I want to recover or not. It's hard...
I know how hard it is to want it, but I think eating a little more than you planned on is a HUGE victory! It shows you're able to let go slightly of that meal plan and eat something just because you wanted it. Way to go!
Thanks, you're awesome <3
@Anomalia this is an awesome idea for a thread! The biggest victory i've achieved is being able to overcome my eating disorder, and becoming a listener. to me becoming a Listener showed me how strong I could be and helping people out was a huge personal victory.
@NewRomantic677 - You are so strong and amazing and I love that you've turned this all into a way to help others. <3
@NewRomantic677
That is awesome!! So proud of you!
@Anomalia thank you for making this wonderful thread! Sharing the small victories and celebrating them is such an important part of recovery and a great way to boost self esteem if you're feeling a little low and I'm so glad you've created a space for people to do that!
Although I don't have too many problems with eating anymore, I'd still like to share my own little victory from yesterday, which would be having that piece of cake and just enjoying it without feeling guilty.
Thanks again for making this thread!
@Georgie4 - That taste of guilt sprinkled on can really make a food bitter, so I'm glad you got to enjoy some delicious cake, guilt-free! Yay!
@Anomalia Thank you for making this! What a great way to focus on our wins!
I've been struggling a little bit with my thoughts lately but today I successfully had lunch with some of my classmates at college. I eat most of my meals in private so this was a pretty big deal!
@BraveMelon7408 - What a great victory! It can be tough to let yourself be surrounded by friends when you eat, but having that love and laughter around you is a tremendous thing! Congratulations!
@braveMelon7408, I deal with the same anxiety about eating in public and being judged for what I'm eating. Great job to eat with your friends at college!
I think one of my victories is I'm now at the point where I don't think about how many days I've been clean. I've just been living each day to the next. I've now started to mark down when I relapse, but it just helps me to stay focused.
@Decembernight0608 - WOW! I am so incredibly proud of you for that! It's tough to get past the day by day counting, but being able to let go of it helps you live your life more fully, and I'm thrilled to hear it!
@decembernight0608
That is wonderful to hear! If you don't mind me asking, what was the most helpful to you in your recovery? :)
I think the most helpful for me was to just take it slowly. I go to college full time so there are times my mind was going 100mph and I needed to just take 30 minutes to myself to think about how important my health is.
I've spent less time worrying about what others will think of me. Instead, I've focused on what I need to do to get better. 
@th3commonc0ld - That's such a hard thing to do and I am impressed and inspired by your ability to look past what other people think and towards what you need for you! Woohoo! :)
Finally starting to understand that I am more than my appearance.
@MidniteAngel - Yay! That is an enormous victory and such a hard one to achieve. I am so impressed by and proud of you!
My victory last night was going to a restaurant without looking at the menu first to know what I would order in advance. Usually that stresses me out a lot, but not this time! :)
Stay strong, warriors!
@Anomalia that is really awesome and so glad that r aware to all the details. Good for you :)
I've been backsliding a lot this week, so I really don't feel very victorious about anything but today I ate some ice cream for the first time in several months and it didn't set off a binge. I had a small bowl of ice cream after dinner, ate it slowly and thought about how much I was enjoying it instead of how much I hated any fat/calories going into my body and afterwards I felt satiated enough that I didn't need to eat any more or eat anything else, because I was full :)
@moonbaby9574 - That's so awesome! Being able to be in the moment and truly enjoy your ice cream without it setting off a binge or making you feel guilty is fantastic and I'm so happy for you! 
@moonbaby9574 ...
Hi moon! I'm not sure if you're still around much/at all, as this was posted such a long time ago ... but ... I wanted to say, "Yay for you!" I am thankful to have found this thread; it is something I really need at this time. I want to have recovery (most of the time) but my ED really likes me to look at the BIIIIGGGG picture. My ED is very confident in telling me the little things don't count. ED is wrong! Small victories DO count. And sharing those small things here can help us encourage each other and "puff up" the healthy part of each of us too. #EDWarriors
I am grateful with you that you were able to enjoy this small bowl of ice cream (yes okay about 2.5 yrs ago ...). I hope you are doing well! Do let me know if you see this, ok? :) Platy
P.S. Hi @Anomalia - this is a wonderful thread!