Topic Tuesday: Recovery

“Recovering, Not Recovered.” (By: Mackenzie Fox)

I’ve just returned home from vacation and I think, like most people, I’ve got a bad case of the post-vacation blues. It’s times like this that I have to remind myself that I’m still in the thick of my recovery. I am recovering. I am not recovered. I use this phrase a lot because I feel like it helps people understand that you don’t wake up one day, or leave a treatment facility just all better and 100% ‘fixed’. Recovery is a long process and you are going to hit bumps in the road, take a few wrong turns but if you are luckily, you’ve got people in your life who have gotten to the end of the road and they can let you know how great it is to finish the journey.

I’ve surrounded myself with a support system of people who are in different phases of recovery themselves. It is a good feeling, knowing that you can help other people in their journey to recovery but it’s sweet to be able to lean on those people who’ve crossed their own finish line. So on days where I may tiptoe around behaviors or spend excessive amounts of time trying to rid my mind of negative thoughts, it’s a powerful reminder to tell myself that I’m recovering, not yet recovered.

About the Author

Mackenzie Fox is a Nashville native who is happy to share her stories of her eating disorder and recovery in hopes that she can help others. She spends her days weight lifting, mentoring high school students as they prepare for college and spending time with her two cats, Tonks and Maleficent. She is a total cat lady and goof ball who wants to show people that there is absolutely an amazing life after an eating disorder.