A creative Recovery

Everybody reading this will have a key. Your key is basically the reason you want to get well, your motivation to succeed. You may be sitting there thinking ' well I don't have one, I got to this site by accident' , but the fact that you're still reading means that there is some part of you, however small, that wants to get well. We can work out what your key is and create a symbol so that wherever you are, however tough your day has been , you can look at your key and know why you're staying so strong.

When I was really ill I couldn't think clearly, my head was a mess. By creating a picture of my mind, I was able to tidy it up. My head was no longer just a mass of wondering thoughts wizzing around too fast for me to think straight, it had specific rooms. If I wanted to remember something I would imagine my memory room. If I was having a tough day and finding it difficult to eat I would see the character I had created to help me and I would travel to my safe haven in my mind. I would go to the diamond room full of positive thoughts or I would have a meeting in my mind to discuss the problem and any solutions that I could think of .

One of the reasons that this system worked so well for me, is that I put great emphasis on what other people think, I used this to my advantage by creating helpful guides to give a voice to my positive thoughts. When the voice in my head was telling me that I was greedy for eating and that I didn't deserve to eat, the positive character I had created was able to tell me that it was ok to eat, that I was worth it and not to listen to Ana. It was not me per se that was saying it, it was one of my characters, therefore I was able to listen to it. My character could give me permission to eat, when I couldn't.