Conscious Choices, Part 2

By Ashleigh Stewart

(Page 2 of 2)

It might be one or all of those factors, but in the end it doesn't really matter, as long as we are aware of the fact and realize that in the end we do have the choice of whether we want to have an eating disorder or not and regardless of any help, advice, attention, sympathy, therapy or medical assistance we receive it is still our responsibility to deal with it in the end. It is obviously necessary to receive some guidance to show you the way out of your situation but the last step of releasing yourself from this is your own conscious choice to carry on living this way or not and nobody else can make that decision for you.

In past articles I have referred to an eating disorder as an illness and referred to the person who has it as being the victim and sufferer, but now after what I have learnt lately, I can see that by categorizing the people who have eating disorders and their typical habits in this way only puts a limitation upon their ability to heal themselves and creates an indirect excuse for them not to take full conscious choices to heal their problems.

Anyone reading this who actually does have an eating disorder, particularly bulimia, might argue here by stating that when they are in 'binge and purge' mode that they are helpless with their compulsion and that they feel out of control when they are going through the whole binge episode. I do agree and completely understand because I have been through those experiences so many times myself. However, in the end these habits do arise as the result of some deeper problems and had these problems been dealt with accordingly prior to the development of the eating disorder then we would never have had the inclination to engage in such eating behaviours in the first place. An eating disorder is only the result of lingering problems from previous experiences in our lives that are either left unrealized of simply just have not yet been dealt with.

Having an eating disorder is very difficult to understand and it can be hard to see the true light of it all when you are the one who is caught up in the middle of it all because your mind is in a whirl of confusion. In one way I personally felt very sad to be living with the thoughts I have lately where I questioned the fact if I was really clear and healed of my eating disorder or not. However, I do appreciate the experience at the same time because I have learnt the most valuable lesson I have ever learnt from my years of experiencing bulimia and anorexia.

The lesson for me was that we are never ever really victims of anything, we do have the choice in the end of whether we choose to exist within one experience like this or not, regardless of the extent of the circumstances surrounding it. I had the choice in my hand and it would have been easier for me to carry on with my life in a way of having bulimic habits than what was to fight the temptation to binge and purge. However, by having that situation in my face has allowed me to realize the choices we do have in light of it all. The main thing I am trying to say here is that people with eating disorders should never be labeled as being victims, they are not. This is all they need to avoid facing the facts that in the end it is their own choice to heal them selves or to carry on with living with habits of an eating disorder.

That's life and the fact that we have free will to choose our own life direction, destiny, fate or however you'd like it refer to it, it not applicable in certain circumstances, it stands in all cases. There is no real excuse for this behaviour in the end. No one should have to live in this way under any circumstances, particularly the ones in which you create for yourself. Happiness is a state of mind, health is a state of mind and if we are unable to comprehend this then how can we ever expect to be happy with any of the circumstances that are presented before us in life, just think about it!

About the Author

www.freespiritcentre.info
Ashleigh is a keen writer and is involved in writing for an internet web site called 'The Free Spirit Centre'. This site is focused primarily on healing, personal growth and 'human' issues. Her contribution to the site is by means of her writing articles based on her own life experiences and by some editing of the other writers work.