It’s not uncommon for many of us coming into rehab to be dual diagnosed. For me, I was battling both addiction and alcoholism along with an eating disorder. Sometimes dealing with the secondary issues can be a lot trickier than dealing with addiction. For me, getting clean was a no-brainer. My life was insane and using drugs was not and is not an option. My recovery in regards to addiction has been very simple, very black and white. I just don’t use. Things with my eating disorder, however, have been a lot more challenging. It’s an issue I have had to deal with during and after adolescent treatment. I have often felt discouraged and frustrated when my E.D. issues resurface during challenging times in my adolescent recovery. I sometimes wonder if I will ever have a totally “normal” relationship to food. I haven’t actively binged and purged, and I haven’t actively restricted since I went to treatment, but I have certainly gotten “weird” with food from time to time. I think my friends and family have also been frustrated and made nervous by the fact that my progress has been much slower in this area of my life. There have been many more stops and starts but progress is being made, however slowly. In treatment, I learned the beginning tools to get on the road to recovery from my eating disorder, and I continue to use them years later. That strong foundation is what keeps me striving for freedom and happiness today. Every day isn’t perfect, but I am clean and sober and as long as I have that, I am free to keep growing.
