What does body acceptance and eating disorder recovery mean to me? Every day is a challenge. My old habits still linger and the hurtful thoughts are always in the back of my mind. I have to remember all the accomplishments that got me to this beautiful point I’m at right now in life. When I finally accepted my body for the beauty it is, I didn’t care if it had an embarrassing scar or an imperfection on it. I am thankful for every flaw and curve that I have! Some parts of my body have scars from when I used to self-harm; I see those scars from a very dark time in my life as a constant reminder to keep pushing and loving my body, to not care what people think about me, and to not try to fit society’s expectations of a “perfect body” for a male.
Eating has always been a challenge for me, because every time I eat, in the back of my mind bad thoughts come back. There have been times I almost relapsed because once my eating disorder began, there was no special medicine to help. This dark energy stays with me. The only way to fight it is has been having the courage to get help. I asked someone who I deeply trusted, my eighth-grade science teacher for help, and that moment changed my life forever!
Keith Parris took the internet by storm with his book ‘Amputee Story’, about the many challenges he went through as a child. He has since overcome his eating disorder and self-harm problems, and is now 5+ years clean. Keith was able to rise above all the adversity and build a platform for himself. Through various interviews with publications like SlayTV, he is expanding upon that foundation.
