This past January I received the odd Therapy Homework of writing my eating disorder’s obituary. I definitely thought my therapist was off her rocker when she asked if I would be willing to write one, but oddly enough it turned out to be very healing. I feel anything that helps us further separate ourselves from ED can only strengthen our footing in our road to recovery. I ran across it today and thought I would share:
ED passed away on Sunday, January 30th, 2011. She was 16 years old. She spent her life devoted to and protecting her lifelong best friend. ED saved her friend from childhood torment and sibling shadows. ED lifted her friend up to find the exterior, superficial praise that made her feel worthy and also made ED smile. The two quickly became inseparable and attached at the hip in high school. Eventually, ED’s friend abandoned her friends and family so that she could spend every moment with ED. As the years wore on, ED became more and more demanding causing her to miss her friends and family. ED and her friend made a deal: she could enjoy time with others, but ED always had to come along and when the two were alone it was like nothing else in the world mattered. ED never left her friend’s side, even though she began to tire of ED’s antics. ED became cruel and tortured her companion, but her friend remained faithful all the while entrapped in ED’s dark ways.
On Saturday, July 11th, 2009, ED became very ill…she fell sick to exposure of the truth. She fought a long and vicious two year battle doing everything possible to sink back in to the darkness of her friend’s shadow where she had flourished for so long. At times her friend would return and try to protect and revive her sick friend, ED. But in the end, there was nothing more she could do so she let go and ED died alone on that beautiful January Sunday morning.
