Jasmine’s Body Healing Journey
At Natural Food Therapy, we support each individual with the recovery tools needed to make lasting change. Your learning styles, strengths, passions and character traits can all be used to support your recovery journey. And something we champion for those who respond well to reflective tools is letter writing.
Today, we share recovery warrior Jasmine’s letter to her body. A brave and inspiring letter that shows how far she has come on her body healing journey and how she is creating a new relationship with her body.
My Letter To My Body
Dear body,
It seems strange to write to you. To acknowledge you as if we have only just met– as if you’re a new friend.
The truth is that you have always been there for me. You’ve always cared for me and have done everything in your power to keep me alive. And I realise now that I have never seen you in this light and thought of you as my evil arch enemy.
I want to say that I’m sorry for neglecting your needs when I was always your number one priority. Instead of recognising how hard you were working to support me to function, I was working against you, manipulating your size and changing all your features. I’m sorry for not recognising the constant efforts you put in each day to keep me alive when I was depriving you of your only fuel source.
I’m so sorry for constantly trying to make you smaller. For not allowing you the space that you needed to thrive and the opportunity to live a fulfilling life. I am sorry for feeling ashamed of you and trying to hide you.
I’ve been learning, changing, and I now realise that the smaller I made you, the smaller my life became. I am so grateful that you never gave up on me, even when I wasn’t there for you.
“I now realise that the smaller I made you, the smaller my life became.”
It was never my intention to make your job so hard. I was trying to feel in control when everything else felt so uncertain. Truthfully, despite what I believed at the moment, I was never the one in control; it was my eating disorder.
My eating disorder was in charge of my decisions and actions and made me so hateful towards you. It made me believe that changing you would make me happier. I know now how far from the truth that was.
Whilst trying to gain control of you, I forgot all about your kind-hearted intentions. I was brainwashed into thinking that you were everything wrong in my life. You were never the cause of my struggles, yet I was deceived into placing all the blame on you.
“I now find myself longing to work alongside you.”
After being at war with you for so long, body, I now find myself longing to work alongside you. I want to trust you to guide me to a shape that is compatible with my health, my life and my heart. I am ready to let you take up the space you need for us to thrive, not just survive.
And I understand that if you change as a result of me becoming more aligned with my values and the life I want to live, then these changes are supposed to take place. I trust you to show me the way and guide me to fuel you intuitively. So that we can flourish, make memories and thrive through life.
I trust that when we work together, I will be capable of loving you, not only for your features but for everything you do for me. That you will be able to keep us alive and well, without struggle. Most of all, I trust that you only have my best interests at heart and that your guidance will never lead me astray.
Now, instead of looking in the mirror and wanting to change everything I see. I’m ready to see a vessel full of strength and capability. A vessel that has never let me down.
Final thoughts – Body Healing
Thank you to this wonderful recovery warrior for sharing her recovery letter to her body with us all. We hope this provides hope and empowerment on your body healing journey and inspires you to have a go at this powerful exercise.
If you are working on body image and would like support on your recovery journey, you can learn more about our approach and programme here.
