Predators

#bringyourbrokeness

I saw it on my screen and snorted coffee out of my nose.

How funny!

I was on the page of one of the eating disorder facebook groups I’m a member of when a post popped up by this person touting their not-for-profit, christian, treatment centre for women living with an ED.

Bring your brokenness.

Upon reflection it’s not really that funny.

It’s fkn predatory.

Coming to a page where people (with mental illnesses) have gathered together to seek help, condolences, and find information, in order to tell them that they are broken, and that you, with the help of GOD will heal them…

NOT FOR PROFIT.

At the low cost of just $500 a day! 

Sounds like a wolf telling a wounded sheep that they’ll fix their broken leg back at the den… If they have the cash.

(It should be noted that just because a company is NFP, it doesn’t mean that the people involved don’t get paid (at times quite handsomely). It should also be noted that the company doesn’t pay tax on the incoming funding which is acquired through donations and such. I’m not saying that this particular company is dodgy and taking advantage financially, and of course everyone deserves to be paid for their services… I’m just pointing out that just because you’re running an NFP, it doesn’t mean you are a good person. 

I mean churches and their network of organisations are largely NFP yet house and protect some of the world’s largest rings of paedophiles so….)

I digress…

The reason why this has bit me on the ass so damn hard is because this precise way of thinking about people with mental health issues is EXACTLY why people with ED’s in particular are diagnosed as being terminal and chronic cases. 

We’re not fkn broken m8.

And even if we are, the penetrative cock of Christ isn’t going to fix us, it’s not that easy unfortunately. 

Don’t get me wrong, the words of Christ, God, Brene Brown, Aristotle, Maya Angelou and your local street corner philosopher will come in handy, but those words won’t be what allow you to square up and fight.

Doctors, Nutritionists, meal plans, and the authority of a treatment team may be exactly what you need, for a time…. But it’s not what will ultimately have you seeing the light of day from this illness.

There is no magic bullet, treatment centre, or sentence uttered by someone else that will be the missing link between the cess-pit you’re currently in and the glory of the world you wish to inhabit.

The ONLY thing that will see you through from this moment to your last, is much closer to home. I’ll give you a hint, it starts with Y, ends with U, and has a big juicy O in the middle…

The idea that we are broken victims that need somewhat self proclaimed experts to heal us, I believe, is exactly what’s wrong with the current treatment protocols.

I mean, our eating disorders (amongst many other things) demand of us that we fixate on food, calories, and our weight. We must do what our ED tells us to, or we’ll be punished.

The current treatment methodology does literally exactly the same thing.

And WE get blamed for the obvious repercussions!

WE aren’t broken. 

The system is.

WE aren’t broken, but we’ve also likely never been empowered to feel as such.

We aren’t broken, and more than that, we are also the one and only component of the equation that will determine our ultimate freedom from the clutches of our ED.

So why are we constantly treated as though we are broken?

Notice how there’s a small bit of hope that exists inside of you? A flame that burns day and night that lets you know there’s something not quite right, that there’s more to this life than the confines of your mental illness?

That flame isn’t part of the burning embers of a once grande civilisation that you burnt down and BROKE. That’s your god-damn, mother fkn POWER right there!!!! 

If there is a person telling you that you are broken, they are a predator.

I don’t care how many years they’ve been studying, recovering or spreading the words printed in a book. 

You’re fkn perfect, with some shit and shadows to work out. A small ember can start a forest fire, burn those predators down. 

XXX ALi