Leslee, a Alsana alumnus shares her advice just 16 weeks post treatment.

Alsana not only saved my life they restored me to my life. The life I was meant to live, not a life based on circumstances or the expectations of others. A life I no longer believed was possible or that I deserved. I have suffered from an eating disorder for 45 years and am beginning week 16 post-discharge from 90 days of treatment at Alsana.

I am finding that one of my greatest struggles is being gentle with myself. Sitting in the emotions rather than distracting myself by using behaviors is very uncomfortable and a new experience for me out in the so-called “real world”. I am finding that it can be exhausting. Maintaining structure within each day is critical. Allowing plenty of time each morning for reading, meditating and/or dialoguing is not negotiable if I want to live a life in recovery from an eating disorder. I must start each day by giving myself the gift of time, the time to allow me to become grounded.  It’s as if I need this time to gather strength to face the day and the challenges and opportunities it will bring. Alsana taught me the value of daily structure. This seems like such a simple thing but for me it is not easy to convince myself that I deserve a few minutes every morning to just sit with my Self.