WRITE A LETTER TO YOUR BODY
Did you ever wonder what it might be like to write a letter to your body? This is one of the exercises that we might do while working together.
Here is a sample letter from a patient...
Welcome
Letter to My Body
by a patient
(an excerpt from head to toe)
Dear…
Brain,
You and I are one in the same, but I feel like we’re constantly fighting a war. You do so many healthy, productive, amazing things for me every second of the day. Without you, I wouldn’t be alive. Unfortunately, you’re also killing me. You have given me such wonderful gifts. You make me intelligent. You’ve made me a nurse, and you’ve gotten me into graduate school. You’ve made me a caring, funny, interesting person. However, you’ve made me a sick, dishonest, secretive, distorted person as well. You make me see fat when I look in the mirror. You make me obsess about what I’m going to eat next, what the number is on the scale 5 times a day, and what the number is on the tag on my clothes. You make me afraid and anxious and moody.
Thighs,
Oh, where do I begin? You used to just be those things connected to my thorax that were part of my legs. But then I developed an ED (see above…brain), and you became VERY important. I hate that chills run up my spine when I feel you touch. I hate when I look in the mirror and see cellulite and saddlebags. I hate that my mom told me to stop trying to lose weight because cellulite is genetic and will never go away no matter how thin I get. I hate that I can’t wear short skirts because I’m afraid people will see how ugly you are. I hate that I can’t ever seem to feel like you’re small enough.
Drawing by Gary Zamchick
