Anorexia-induced osteoporosis

Hello coaches

I’m finding it very emotional to deal with the fact that I have osteoporosis as a result of a severe eating disorder. I’ve been in recovery for about six years now and had several bone scans over the last nearly 10 years. Although my bone density has improved it’s still in the osteoporosis zone in some areas.

Very intense emotions come up when I engage with this issue. I feel sad for my younger self as well as empathy, anger at what I did to myself and frustration at the fragility I’ve inflicted on my body. I’ve been told that as long as I stay well my bone density should keep increasing but there are some forms of exercise I need to be very careful about or avoid and it’s been difficult to get reliable health information about my situation from the NHS.

It feels very upsetting to me when I think about it and I’d love to find some ways to think that help me feel strong, kind and supportive to myself, as well as valuing all my current strength and athletic ability. Thank you in advance for any help you can give.

 

 

Answer:

What if you just let yourself feel upset about it? Explore what your brain thinks will happen if you do. Usually it’s something like “I’ll fall into a deep dark sad hole and never climb out.” but that’s not true. You can honor your grief for your bone density and how it affects your life. Grieve for the version of you that struggled with an eating disorder. Leaning into this will likely feel scary. Do what you need to do to help yourself feel safe as you step into the dark. It’s like you’ve been holding this ball of emotions under the water for a really long time, so scared that you’ll drown if you let go. But you know how to swim, and when you let go the ball can float away.

Allowing, processing and releasing that grief will open up new options for you. What do you think you could do with the energy you’re spending fighting your reality if you let it go?

See what comes up and bring back any questions or models. We’re here to support you.