People with borderline personality disorder (BPD) sometimes manipulate others to get the comfort or attention we need. Often, we don't even realize that we are being manipulative. Many of us never learned how to honestly ask for what we need or want. It starts with emotional pain. If we don't get the support we need in the midst of that pain, often feelings of anger arise, and we progress into new or worsening depression. Manipulation tactics then come into play, fueled by our anger that no one understands us. Manipulation in borderline personality disorder is important to understand.

The ability to release emotions stored in the body in eating disorder recovery is vital for our health. On an average day, we have a plethora of emotions that change from one moment to the next. Society however, isn’t set up to allow us to cry, yell, or move emotions through our bodies whenever they arise. Instead, we’re trained to be professional and to be put together (The Stigmatization of Your Emotions). As the saying goes, “Check your baggage at the door.” I’ve heard that multiple times over the course of my professional life. Although there are times we need to be put together, there are many times we need to release emotions before they're stored in our body. Problems arise when we don’t allow ourselves to let the emotions move through us, to release emotions stored in our body during eating disorder recovery. 

Personal growth doesn't necessarily only happen when the conditions are perfect. Seeds tend to develop only when conditions are right. A seed will remain dormant, or inert, until moisture and temperature are favorable for growth. Unfortunately, as humans, we don’t always have the luxury of growing when conditions are just right. Sometimes you must cultivate personal growth and  flower where you’re planted, often in spite of external circumstances.

My name is Grace. I am a 26-year-old Midwesterner with a mild coffee obsession. I am so excited to be a new writer for the Binge Eating Recovery blog. I think it is essential for personal stories to be shared. I believe our experiences are tools to be used for creating awareness and understanding and sparking change.

Do you know how to recover from an abusive relationship? No one wakes up one day and says, "I think I'll fall in love with someone who abuses me." Most relationships don't become abusive, and most abusive relationships don't become abusive until the relationship is well-established. And lack of violence does not mean lack of abuse (Effects of Emotional Abuse on Adults). Breaking it off is the most dangerous part, but what comes after that? Do victims know how to recover from an abusive relationship?

Sometimes, mental illness stigma comes from a loved one's concern for us but mental illness stigma that comes from concern still hurts. For example, I don’t talk about the period of time in my life when I was suicidal. On the rare occasion I might, it will be a fleeting comment or a quick attempt to brush it off as if it were nothing. Even in the articles I’ve written about it, it’s more to talk about how it worked (the way the idea was stuck on repeat in my head; the way it drowned out all other options) rather than the way it actually impacted me. I wish my loved ones didn't react out of concern for me. When they do, I feel as if I must explain myself instead of just talking out the problem. Their concern shows mental illness stigma.

The effects of anxiety are your starting point for healing, even though they are many and miserable (These Awful Effects of Anxiety Must Stop). Anxiety affects us physically, mentally, and emotionally. Anxiety can disrupt our lives in profound ways, preventing us from being who we want to be and doing what we want to do. Anxiety exists on a spectrum from mild to severe, but whether it is a disturbance or a disorder, the effects of anxiety are negative and far-reaching. That said, they're good, too, for the effects of anxiety are a starting point for healing. 

There is one step positive people take to feel happier. I've always admired positive people, and now I am one. I found that I can be a positive person in only one step. That one step positive people take is to surround themselves with positivity. Really, that's all it takes to be a positive person and join the ranks of positive people living fulfilling lives.

I realized recently depression is an experience, not just a diagnosis and thinking of depression as an experience empower me. Depression spurs challenging emotions and physical symptoms, and it also changes the way I think about things. Depression influences the way I respond to various stimuli, and the way I arrange my daily schedule and plan vacations. Depression impacts the way I interact with people, and the relationships I choose to maintain. Depression is something I experience, so I’ve been trying to define my depression more by its impact to my life than by the medical diagnosis. I'm empowering myself by viewing depression as an experience.

Body shaming, seen daily on social media, has a heavy impact on mental health. In modern day society, it seems nearly impossible to avoid society's version of the ideal body. Body shaming consists of criticizing our own bodies and/or criticizing the bodies of others. In the magazines, on television, and on social media, people who do not fit the idea of the perfect body face scrutiny and abuse. Social media often impacts mental health through body shaming.