Things I’m grateful for: people who are brave enough to tell the stories I’m not

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8S8XcPt6Bo

I’ve just discovered Rachael Steil’s sharing of her story as an elite college runner with an eating disorder.

And I’ve really been blown away, both by her bravery in telling her story, as well as her clear and honest explanations of what she and other people with ED’s go through.

I still haven’t shared too much about my own past with an eating disorder– I started to touch upon it in this post— but really, I have a story that’s as long and complicated and intense as hers (minus the part about being an elite college runner– I had long been injured by then).

But I relate so much, to the concept of losing a little bit of weight, and finding it makes you faster, and so then wanting to lose a LOT more.

Of latching on to healthy, trendy “lifestyle” diets– in her case, the raw food diet– because ultimately, you know it’s giving you a way to hide the fact that you have a problem from other people.

And of the paranoia of thinking that if you overeat, even if just for one day, you’ll gain enough weight to slow you down and ruin your time in your next race.

I so, SO appreciated her story, and I can’t wait to read her book.

I think that, when talking about this kind of thing, it’s really important to strike the right balance between sharing the some of the scary aspects of what you went through, while also reassuring people that you eventually found a way out.  That’s one thing that’s held me back from telling my story more– I want to be sure I do it right.

I think Rachael has managed to strike that right balance, so the way she tells her story is really an inspiration for me.

Hope you check it out!

Rachael’s website

Youtube channel, with many more great videos

Her book Running in Silence