Jenni’s Experience with ED Recovery

Jenni Schaefer

Hosted by Jenni Schaefer, Speaker, Singer & Author of Life Without Ed
December 15, 2014

EDH: Welcome to today’s #EDHchat! We are excited to have you all with us! We would like to start by welcoming our special guest, Jenni Schaefer. Jenni is a speaker, singer, and author of several books, including Life Without Ed. Jenni will be sharing with us about her experience with eating disorder recovery. Thank you for joining us today Jenni!

It’s great to have you all here today! Let’s get started with some of our questions.

Please tell us a little about yourself and your background.

Jenni: Importantly, I was born with personality traits like perfectionism & anxiety that made me vulnerable to developing an ED.

With eating disorders, researchers say that genetics loads the gun & the environment pulls the trigger. I was a loaded gun. At age 4, I heard the voice of Ed, “Eating Disorder.” I kept listening until I got help at 22. Ultimately, I fully recovered!

In therapy, I decided to write Life Without Ed about my story, & the rest is history! Gratefully, I’ve written 2 more books. I’m also a singer/songwriter (http://www.Jenni Schaefer.com/music/). I love nature. And I married last year (…to a guy not named Ed)!

EDH: Can you tell us a little bit about your recovery from an eating disorder?

Jenni: I tried to recover alone at first. That didn’t work. I finally reached out, called the National Eating Disorders Association helpline. I connected with a treatment team—therapist, dietitian, psychiatrist, & internist. I joined support groups. The journey began! Recovery was a marathon, not a sprint. It was a relay race.

EDH: What were some of the defining moments that encouraged you to get help?

Jenni: I hit rock bottom AGAIN. Ultimately, I knew Ed was going to kill me if I didn’t get help. I wanted to live. I was miserable. My life was unmanageable. I met a woman who had recovered. She told me life could be different. I began to envision a Life Without Ed. It was scary but also exciting! “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

EDH: What motivated you to keep going in your recovery journey during difficult times?

Jenni: I wrote in my journal during good times…how it felt to be Ed-free. Then, when I relapsed, I re-read my own journals for hope. Believing in FULLY recovered made a huge difference!

I surrounded myself with people who said, “You CAN do this,” over and over again. Recovered people inspired me a lot.

EDH: What has helped you find lasting recovery from an eating disorder?

Jenni: Accountability. I wrote about this in 10th Anniversary Edition of Life Without Ed. Embracing “perfectly imperfect!” Overcoming perfectionism was key. Jumping into LIFE! We recover from our eating disorders in order to recover our lives.

EDH: What have been the most helpful tools in your recovery?

Jenni: Support, support, support! There is no such thing as too much. If you need a mentor, connect with mentor – for free! Having lots of patience with body image improvement.

EDH: What if I have experienced a relapse? How can I keep going?

Jenni: Use each relapse as a learning experience. Why did I fall down? How can I avoid falling down in the same way in the future? Choose recovery in each and every moment. Do the next right thing. NOW, not later.

Recommit to recovery. Declare your independence from Ed to yourself and others. Eleanor Roosevelt: “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” This quote helped me a lot during setbacks.

EDH: Please tell us about the books you have authored and the inspiration behind them.

Jenni: The “Ed” concept helped me so much in recovery that I wanted to share it in Life Without Ed.

FULL recovery from EDs is possible! This is why I wrote Goodbye Ed Hello Me.

Dr. Jenny Thomas & I wrote Almost Anorexic to get the word out about the seriousness of ALL eating disorders.

EDH: What words of encouragement might you share with someone today who is struggling with an eating disorder?

Jenni: If you haven’t already, tell someone. Get professional support. Reach out for help. Don’t Settle for Almost Recovered! “Fall down 7 times, stand up 8.” – Japanese proverb, my favorite quote.

Don’t Give Up! Don’t quit before the miracle of recovery happens for you. It IS possible.

EDH: Thank you Jenni for sharing this great insight and encouragement about the recovery process.

If you or a loved one has been suffering with an eating disorder, we hope this information brings you hope. Recovery from an eating disorder is possible.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Twitter chat today! And thank you for the great insight Jenni Schaefer.

For more information on Jenni Schaefer and her books, please go to www.jennischaefer.com.

If you are in need of resources for an eating disorder, visit our website at Eating Disorder Hope.