Marissa Garner
Stories (1/0)
Pain Words Cannot Express
Pain Words Cannot Express “I’m not hungry,” I would say with conviction as I stared at my dinner plate and felt my stomach grumble. This had become my catchphrase when I was a young teenager, and most of the time, I could get away with it. It was easy to skip breakfast on a school day—I could slip out the front door to catch the bus before anyone else was awake and could monitor my eating. During lunch hour I would lie to my friends and say I snacked on my lunch throughout my classes and was no longer hungry. Dinner by far was the hardest to get around, with both my parents and all four sisters carefully observing my dinner plate. If I was lucky, I could serve up my own food in tiny portions. But when my mom finally suggested to me that I might have anorexia nervosa, I was in denial. I felt there was nothing that could set me free of the trial I was being devoured by, especially since I wouldn’t admit my own weaknesses. That was, at least, until I was introduced to art therapy. Finally, through this process of self-expression, I was directed down a path where I accepted my eating disorder and reached out for the help I so desperately needed. Because of this experience, I have since learned the benefits of using art in recovery, and am a strong advocate of it. Art therapy should be used in every anorexia treatment because it easily connects the patients inner-turmoil to verbal expression. I believe this is an exercise than can benefit anyone struggling with an eating disorder.
By Marissa Garner6 years ago in Psyche