Stories of Healing: Teresa
Teresa’s battle with her eating disorder began back in 2009. She was just a teenager herself when she first walked through Rock Recovery’s doors after panicking over a four-course meal at a restaurant on Valentine’s Day. She found help in Rock Recovery's Bridge to Life group and began to do the healing work that would lead to full and lasting recovery. Today, Teresa helps those who struggle find freedom by supporting Rock Recovery as a former board member and donor. She has two young boys and is married to her high school sweetheart.
Recovery is a journey, one that may begin with a single step, but requires many more. My journey with anorexia began when I was 8 years old, and throughout my teenage years, I dove deeper and deeper into my illness. It served as a maladaptive coping mechanism to deal with stress, but it robbed me of relationships and left me isolated, frightened, and ill. During the journey of recovery, there are steps backwards, hours spent standing perfectly still, and days on your knees praying for the strength not to simply give up and lie down. In the span of that time, for me there are two moments that define my journey.
The first moment occurred on February 14, 2009. I had begun treatment for anorexia the week before and my then boyfriend, now husband, had come down to visit and celebrate Valentine's Day. We arrived at the Italian restaurant where I had made a reservation for a romantic dinner. What they hadn't told me when I made the reservation was that they were serving a fixed, four course menu for the holiday.
I still remember sitting at the table, sobbing over my salad as my husband held my hand and reassured me that the two following courses would be okay. We would get through this together. He meant the meal, but the same was true of the work in recovery that had to occur over the next few years.
Between that moment, when what should have been a lovely night turned into a catastrophe, and this, where I consider myself fully recovered, are countless hours of therapy, many more tears shed over dozens of plates, months, and even years, spent "in recovery." I don't know the date or time when I crossed from "in recovery" to "recovered," but I do know what it means to be recovered.
Now, instead of crying over salad, I am lovingly designing the kitchen in my new home. I have two children and this space will be the center of our home. It will be where we talk as we bake cookies, where we laugh as we roll dozens of Christmas tamales, and where we'll build a lifetime of memories anchored in joy and freedom around food. The legacy of my recovery will be this: the day my children learn I used to have an eating disorder will be a shock to them, because they will have grown up in complete freedom around food.
If you were moved by Teresa’s story, we hope you will consider donating this GivingTuesday to help more people like Teresa find freedom and a second chance at life! Click here to give.