Kelli E., former patient
“I think there are times in each of our lives when we find ourselves at a crossroads. One of mine came when I entered treatment at ERC. I know that I needed help. I wanted help. I could not longer live the way I was at the time. My eating disorder and other destructive ways were no longer helping me cope with life. They were killing me.
Once I walked through the doors at ERC I know I was in a safe place. I could learn to drop my guard, trust the staff, and face the very hard things that needed to be addressed. I learned to look at things in new ways. The staff taught me how to identify my values and what is dear to me, and how to start reframing my thoughts and actions to become more congruent with those values. During my time at ERC I learned that my emotions are not bad, and can not be ignored. I can experience my emotions and not need to use behaviors to try and turn them off.
I’ve learned that true healing and recovery does not come easily. I’ve also learned that not every day is a great day, and that’s OK. But even my hard days now are not as bad as most of my days before treatment at ERC. I am continuing to work on things in outpatient at ERC, and am in a weekly body image group there. I find that both of these things help keep me recovery focused. Without the intentional follow-up care at ERC I know that recovery would be very difficult.
I’m learning to pursue life with passion, and know that I can orchestrate my life how I want it to be from here on out. I know have choices, and I’m learning how to voice my needs and not let my eating disorder speak for me.
My goal, no longer is just to endure live. I want to enjoy life, embrace it, and truly feel contentment and fulfillment. I truly know that without the compassion and care I received at ERC I wouldn’t be able to have this outlook on life.
The programs, but more importantly, the people at ERC helped me to see that I do indeed deserve to be happy and can be happy. They loved me when I felt unlovable. They cared for me until I could start to care for myself again. They gently but firmly challenged me, and most of all, they had faith in me that I could succeed in this fight. For that I will always be more than grateful. ”
- Kelli E., former Eating Recovery Center patient
