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A Letter To My Body


A letter to my body...


Once a week, myself and an EDT (Eating Disorder Tech) lead a Body Image group for our residents.  We've covered a broad range of topics, including Health At Every Size (HAES), positive body resources, documentaries, yoga, and so much more.  This past week, my co-facilitator led a lesson on writing a letter to our body, and processing that experience.  I myself have done this exercise numerous times throughout my life, and each time it has allowed me to learn something new.  This week was no different, so I participated in the activity right alongside my clients.

 Since this blog allows me to be creative and express myself fully, I figured what better place to present my own vulnerability than right here:

Dear Body,

Thank you for being the vessel to my soul.  I know I haven't always treated you fairly, or even with kindness...but your amazing-ness does not go unnoticed.  I am able to breathe without thinking; I can move, jump, laugh, cry...and a plethora of other emotions because of you.  While society may think all of my self-worth is defined by how I look - I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I know I have sososososo much more to give to this world than that.  Even so, I will give credit where credit is due.  

Thank you for bearing with me during my teenage years when I took you for granted.

Thank you for being my protector when others mistreated me physically or emotionally.  

Thank you for housing Eli for 9 months, and then continuing to nourish him for an additional year after.  

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to use my own experiences to then help others with eating disorders heal their relationships with their bodies and food.  

To be honest, I never thought I would have a civil relationship with you - being able to connect my mind & body...but I am forever grateful (and thankful) to have found internal peace.

So where do we (body) go from here? Only time will tell.But let's work together and create amazing memories that will last a lifetime.
Love, Abbie


As my own letter references, I haven't always gotten along with my body, nonetheless  been drawn to write a thank you for this exercise.  There were periods of time  my writing was more negative; other times I might have praised my body for superficial things (such as losing weight).  Today, I like to think that I have much more insight and wisdom around body image than I did 10, 5, even 1 year ago. 

So how did my clients react to this activity?  Well, to be honest, they were mixed - some found it very therapeutic and had positive dialogue between themselves and their body; others had a negative experience and wrote more angry or frustrated themes.  One client shared that she had her body write a letter TO her, which was insightful; another didn't write a letter at all, but instead journaled words that came up for her in the moment.  The point is, none of these reactions were right or wrong.  Everyone (whether you are in recovery from an eating disorder or not) is going to have a different response to vulnerability.  When some of my clients voiced increased anxiety around this topic, I pointed out that this experience would be one that they could learn from, and even reflect on in the future to see how their perception changes.

I then left them with one of my favorite body image quotes: "The relationship you have with your body is the LONGEST long-term relationship you will ever have."  You have been with your body long before you met your parents, your siblings, your friends.  If you have a significant other think of it this way:  you have unconditional love for them, but you may not get along or even LIKE them all the time.  That's okay!  The same goes for your body - there may be a day you're really not feeling it, but you can always RESPECT it.  


Take a moment to reflect: what would YOUR letter to your body look like?  Or what would your body have to say in response?  How has your body image changed over the years?  What's been helpful (or not so much)?  How can you continue moving towards a neutral body image, vs. a negative one?

The photo above is a great reminder - that every piece of you IS beautiful!  Every piece of you is unique, special, important, and perfect just the way it is, no questions asked and no changes necessary.  I just wish society would get on board with that same message :)  But the more people who advocate for ALL bodies, the closer we get to creating systemic change.

So get to it and write your own letter -  because you deserve self-reflection and self-love today and everyday.  <3 
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