I have an article that will be published on the sister website of @neda soon that discusses this in more detail. I'll share it when it's posted but wanted to share some now. ((I don't intend to shame anyone who has shared their recovery photos. I'd like to offer different perspectives because it's important to open the conversation rather than assume everyone is on board. I hope those who disagree can speak kindly and non-judgmentally in return.)) For those in early recovery especially, our eating disorders can tempt us to compare numbers or sizes, or even make us question, "Am I sick enough to receive help? Because that person seems to need it more than me". That can be very harmful when it comes to this.
These photos also solely show physical growth. It is a huge misconception still that those who have eating disorders must be physically underweight to be considered struggling. It reinforces a misconception that you can see who is struggling.
The truth is: we aren't telling the whole story through these photos, even with our captions. There are people in recovery who don't feel comfortable sharing their photos at all. And there are also people in recovery who simply cannot relate to having any shocking physical changes.
Overall, though those of us who can share these photos are praised for sharing them and may be creating short term change, we are feeding into the misconceptions of eating disorders and sadly not making room to create real, long term change.
So let’s fight back.
I encourage you to responsibly share your recovery story this NEDA awareness week if you feel comfortable doing so. I also encourage you to factor in other people – those in recovery and those whom we are trying to educate.
And I encourage you to use the photo pictured on the left as your “before” photo if you want to support this project.
We are so much more than comparison photos.
We are strong, resilient warriors and we will go against the grain and continue to fight to be seen and heard – even if that means not receiving instant validation.
Like recovery, change takes time; it is a journey but it is possible.
7 years agojana.reallife
Love this! I've never posted b&a pics on SM because I'm so passionate about getting women to stop asking "do I weigh less now?" and ask instead, "do I feel healthier now?" Hmm, I might post that!
10 years agocupcakesandcardiology
@soworthsaving It is hard to distance yourself from people and things that you feel some obligation to--either on the internet or in real life. What matters, though, is that you do what's best for you. Ultimately, your recovery has to be your focus. 💕
10 years agolexiemanion
@cupcakesandcardiology I agree! I've had to unfollow accounts who post their photos too, and I mean..It's tough and I still follow some I'm sure. But outside of this hashtag, it's genuinely upsetting to see and hurts me. I still support those people, just from afar. It's so therapeutic to delete the photos and unfollow. It was tough for me to do both, but I think even if not everyone agrees at this moment, we are sparking conversations to create change that can represent everyone in recovery, and not just a select amount. Thanks for voicing your ideas, I really appreciate it :)
10 years agocupcakesandcardiology
@soworthsaving Besides, I deleted all of my 'sick photos'; I asked people I knew to do the same. I don't want to see them; I don't want to use them as personal thinspo nor do I want to be reminded of that horrible time in my life. Deleting them (just like burning my sick clothes) was very therapeutic!
10 years agolexiemanion
EXACTLY. I love how you worded this. It's so eloquently put. Thank you for the love and support. I really appreciate your insight 💜 @cupcakesandcardiology
10 years agocupcakesandcardiology
I adore this! Before photos do more harm than good in my opinion. As you said, they fixate on the physicality of disorders, which not only trivializes the illness, but triggers it, fostering competition within the community and even preventing people from recovering. Eating disorders are mental illness with physical consequences not the other way around; we, as members of the community, need to treat them as such, and your campaign is an excellent way of doing so. 💕
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