When I agreed to write about lived experience supporting a loved one with an eating disorder, I didn’t anticipate it would be all that difficult. Getting someone into and through treatment is a challenge, absolutely, but considering my career began in journalism and I now spend five days per week mentoring caregivers on a recovery journey with their own loved ones… well, 800-1,500 words on a topic I’m passionate about shouldn’t be too complicated, right?

Not exactly. If I had taken a stream of consciousness approach at writing this, I’d be well on my way to writing an entire book at this point. Instead, I’ve over-thought and started over so many times that I’ve had to radically accept the guilt of writer’s block and apologize for missed deadlines. Thanks to some box breathing, taking a step back and (re-)checking the facts, I’ve finally arrived at a place of clarity: I’ve been overwhelmed by the extent of what could be shared because my perspective of supporting a loved one has dramatically shifted from one experience to many.

After supporting my then-teenage daughter through anorexia recovery, I made an unexpected career move and became a family mentor at Equip. Since then, I’ve supported hundreds of families as they supported their own loved ones through eating disorder treatment.