I don't know whether to begin this post with, "Many of you may know..." or "Many of you may not know..." because it's difficult for me to gauge how I'm perceived when it comes to this manner these days, so forgive me for the opening of this post. I guess I'll find a middle-ground between the two. ;)
Many of you may or may not know about my struggles with body image. Loving myself has been one of the most difficult journeys I have ever been on. After being teased by strangers, friends, family at some points, even boyfriends over my weight, I spent many years hating myself. I won't get into it in detail in this post, and I'm not sure if I will ever open up completely to anyone about it, but I struggled with an eating disorder for the greater part of my adolescence trying to reach a standard of beauty. I was one of the lucky ones who was able to bring myself into recovery after spending years going back and forth with my disorder, and have been in recovery for quite some time now. I would love to say "recovered", but anyone who has struggled with disordered eating and tendencies knows that the struggle is always there, it's just about how you manage it, and therefore I will forever be in recovery.
I spent so much time relying on others to love me, because I didn't love myself, and I have finally broken free of that. I wish I could say that I am ALWAYS body positive, but that is untrue to say about anyone, and that's okay! The point is that I do love myself more often than not these days and I want to help anyone who is struggling reach that point as well.
This month what I want to do is a series of posts about self love and body positivity, and this is ilthe opening piece. I want to share my experience of finding myself with y'all, and I hope it's a positive thing! I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to hear from other readers who are learning to love themselves! Feel free to comment or email me at ericashoults@gmail.com.
Much love!
