Stories of Healing: Callie
Callie began struggling with an eating disorder in high school and after eight years of seeking treatment, she wasn’t sure recovery would ever be possible for her. Then she found Rock Recovery. She joined Rock’s Bridge to Life body image therapy group with the help of sliding scale financial assistance and gained valuable tools and insight she had not encountered in eight years of treatment. The community of women she encountered changed her life and, since graduating, she is now walking in full recovery thanks to Rock.
My eating disorder started in late high school when I began the Paleo diet because of body image struggles. Over the next few years, my perfectionist tendencies took over and my life revolved around obsessing over food and restricting my intake to try to control my body image. It truly felt like all I could think about. I vividly remember arguing with my college roommates over the restrictive eating tendencies that they were noticing in me and denying their invitations to go out to eat with friends because of fear of food. It was a miserable life.
Rock program graduate, Callie (pictured far left) with her family.
After struggling with a bout of depression for a whole college semester, I found a good therapist in my hometown and made the decision to take a semester off from college to go to treatment and get help. It was a transformative semester and summer. However, I soon discovered the road to recovery would be long and have its ups and downs.
After eight years of working with various therapists and dietitians, I knew all the right things to do but was still having trouble with my body image and wasn’t sure that full recovery was possible. When I moved to Arlington, VA in 2020 I decided to research eating disorder help in the area and came across Rock Recovery. I was so encouraged to find a faith-based organization and one that offered financial assistance, since I wasn’t able to pay full price for support. In the summer of 2020, I joined Rock’s body image group with the help of the sliding scale, and I can honestly say that it was life-changing. The group therapist taught me new things that I hadn’t encountered in my eight years of receiving professional eating disorder help, and the community of women around me who experienced the same struggles and desired freedom was just what I needed. Before joining the group, I really didn’t know if full recovery was possible, but since graduating from that group I have undoubtedly entered into full recovery and could not be more grateful for the mission of Rock Recovery.
I graduated from Rock’s body image group just months before meeting and marrying my now husband, which was a testament to God’s faithfulness and grace in my life. The seasons of dating, engagement and now marriage would not have been the same without the work I did in Rock’s body image group. I do not think I have had an eating disorder thought since 2020 and it is all because of the help of Rock Recovery and their amazing team.
Rock Recovery is a beautiful ministry that I believe the Lord is using to bring people into freedom, and I am incredibly blessed to have benefited from it. My deepest thanks to the donors who make the work of Rock Recovery possible. Your financial support is changing lives and I could not be more thankful that God chose to use you to change my life.