Happy New
Year!
How often do we
say these words without really meaning or even thinking about them?
Worse, how often do we wish others happiness while silently despairing of our
own? For most of us, the answer is, too often.
We do have a
choice, you know. It’s that old glass
half full or half empty thing. I’ve been
thinking about this in response to a comment posted on my blog yesterday: “I would like to know where you got the information that the
vast majority of girls with eating disorders eventually get better? I was in
treatment two years ago and they told us exactly the opposite.”
Now,
I’m not in a position to second guess the accuracy of this report, let alone
speculate why any therapist ever would discourage hope in treatment. But I will say that the emphasis in
statistics about eating disorders is almost always on the downside –
highlighting the high prevalence, mortality rates, and relapse rates. These
scary statistics are publicized in order to persuade the public that these
illnesses are serious and widespread enough to warrant preventive education,
treatment, insurance coverage, and research.
Even one person who dies of an eating disorder is one too many.
On
the other hand, those who are already ill don’t need to be told how dangerous
these disorders are. They need to focus
on the flip side of these statistics: the recovery rates. Those rates are difficult to come by, mostly
because the vast majority of people with eating disorders never receive
treatment and so never are counted. Patients,
who are counted, at least until recently have tended to be those most severely
ill. And those who are sickest have
lower rates of full recovery. All this
means that the true recovery rates are most likely higher than the published rates. But even if we consider only the official recovery
rates, the outlook is generally positive.
Anorexia
nervosa is widely considered to be the most difficult eating disorder to treat
and the most persistent. Yet here is the
report from Laureate Clinic in Tulsa, OK, published in 2003: “for the overall spectrum of patients with
anorexia nervosa, approximately 75%–85% will completely recover. If
patients who experience significant improvement are included, the
rate of positive outcome rises to over 90%. Thus, a 75%–90% rate
of recovery is a more accurate estimate.” http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/160/4/798
Does recovery
happen “spontaneously” or “perfectly”?
Does recovery look the same in every case? Does recovery guarantee a “perfect” life?
The answer is
no. There are no statistics on instant,
easy, or perfect recoveries – because such recoveries do not exist.
Recovery takes
time and is messy. It involves effort
and hope and courage to change. Most of
all, it requires acceptance of all the imperfections, all the unknowable truths
and uncertain possibilities that life contains.
Recovery means ignoring the
numbers, whether on the scale or in statistics.
I remember years
ago when my teenage son was angling for permission to go to a club in a
dangerous part of town by saying that all his friends went there all the time.
I replied that I really didn’t care how many of his friends went and came back
safe; my sole concern was that he be
safe.
When it comes to
your recovery, the same rule applies. It
doesn’t matter what the statistics say; it only matters that you grant yourself
the permission, support, encouragement, and time that you personally need to
reclaim your future and your health.
So fill your
glass and raise it high, and this time really mean it when you promise yourself
a happy and healthy new year!
Nice post!
Posted by: Laura | December 31, 2008 at 03:52 PM
Yes, great post!
Happy New Year...genuinely :-)
Posted by: cindy | January 01, 2009 at 09:02 AM
Yes, great post!
Happy New Year...genuinely :-)
Posted by: cindy | January 01, 2009 at 09:04 AM