(excerpt from The Secret Language of Eating Disorders)
It is my dearest hope that the wider public can come to understand the true nature of Confirmed Negativity Condition (CNC) and the manifesting eating disorders that arise from it. Sadly, the perils caused by CNC extend beyond its sufferers. All too often, families and other loved ones are tortured by the mistaken belief that they are somehow the cause of the sufferer's condition. They feel guilty, devastated. Families are destroyed, unnecessarily.
Once the public understands the true nature of eating disorders, then the crushing onus of blame will be lifted from sufferers and their loved ones, freeing them to focus on recovery.
Although sufferers of CNC (and resulting eating disorders) have been subject to negative caricatures of selfishness and victimhood, they are in reality purveyors of the most positive virtues available to humankind. These are lives to be cherished. Sensitivity and caring are not new in man. Poets and artists throughout the ages have described and ached for humanity. What is disturbing is the frequency and intensity with which this caring manifests itself in eating disorders in our contemporary global reality.
Each CNC sufferer I have met has been uniquely loving and has possessed uncommon courage. I have been pained by the thought that their lives have been so readily discounted. My hope is that we will build bridges among all of us united in this endeavor. I have the greatest belief in the commonality of our cause, the human conundrum.
The poet A.E. Houseman said it thus:
If truth in hearts that perish
Could move the powers on high,
I think the love I bear you
Should make you not to die.
2 comments:
so this is truely one of my favourite parts of the book...it´s right on the spot...it´s sad, but at the same time it gives hope.when being in despair you´re so desperately wanting to believe in life but you can´t. you told us the truth when we would never in a million years thought that anyone understood us or that we we´re ever meant to be happy or loved...but you told us we were....thank you...and now because of your courage to seek alternative explanations and treatment for one of the most hidden diseases ever, so many more of us can now spread that kind of understanding and caring to others.
love
michaela
Michaela,
You are a little trooper. You always have been. You re-inspire me every time that I read your comments on the blog. I would love to see you again soon...maybe this summer. Big hugs. Love you.
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