Happy Fall! This amazing season is a time of fun, coziness, camaraderie and color... and that is exactly what our member of the month, Paige adds to Empowered RX.
Paige is one of the most creative, kind and fun people I know. She is an artist, a dancer, has a dark sense of humor AND is a recovery warrior.
Interview with a badass:
Tell us about yourself:
I'm Paige and I am recovering from an ED and I'm getting stronger every day. I'm a dancer and an artist, I love to create things. I do a lot of art work and sometimes I center my artwork around the things I've struggled with.
Why do you like art so much?
It's fun and sometimes stressful. When it's something healing it is a good way to connect with it and helps to process it and not see it as such a bad thing.
Tell us about your ED Journey:
Started having thoughts and urges when i was 9 years old. In middle-school I struggled to have friends and a safe space to eat lunch so I dealt with it by using ED behaviors. It progressively got worse until I was in Highschool. I started to recover in Spring of 2021
where I spent a long long time away from home. When I came back I decided there was nothing better than being home, so I pushed really hard and fought.
What have you learned about yourself in recovery?:
The main thing that i've learned is that I don't like parts of myself because of things people have said and done to me that my ED was able to take a hold of.
What has joining Empowered RX been like?:
Joining Empowered was the saving grace for me. I wanted so badly to relapse but my mom made me join Empowered. I had a whole community of people I didn't want to let down. Making connections and friends with people who get it and will always support you has been so helpful.
What has the hardest part of Empowered been?:
Fighting to make sure I stay on track. I can't weight lift if I'm not staying on track with my fuel.
What is your favorite part of Empowered?
I really love Empowered ART class and I love that the prompts are creative and varied. There is creative flexibility.
What are your next recovery goals?:
Graduating from Empowered and continuing recovery. I need to know for myself that I want to keep going.
What is some advice you can give to people new in recovery?:
Even if starting recovery isn't your choice try to find something that makes it feel like it is your choice is key because fighting against recovery is so miserable. You have to find something that makes it worth living for.
What were those things worth living for for you?:
Dance is my entire life. I really love dance. The thought of not having it has been too difficult to let go of.
What are your greatest recovery accomplishments?:
The day that I decided to actually recover. I had gotten back from my Doctors appointment which didn't go so great. She told me I had to recover or it was back to inpatient. So I decided that dance was too close and I couldn't lose it. I had to dig deep and recover.
What were the hardest parts of recovery?:
At the start of recovery dealing with weight restoration and not being allowed to know what I looked like made me feel worse emotionally.
Favorite Recovery Quote:
"You get this"
ART BELOW
Puzzle pieces- "Pieces of Me" - A puzzle piecing together the parts of my brrain and mental health that make up my eating disorder. I feel trapped in myself but can also grow from them.
2. "RUDE"- Representative character of my ED named EDNA and she is rude and mean. She makes me feel bad about myself. She was making fun of her ed instead of her ED making fun of her.
3. Dancing skeleton "Strength"- Overcoming your hardest times in recovery and you have to take a leap of faith to go further. You have to realize you can push past it!
4. The door -
5. Heart strings-
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