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Jenni Schaefer

Jenni Schaefer Quotes

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Famous Jenni Schaefer Quotes

“Why couldn’t I find one action that would make the need to binge automatically disappear? Because there is no magic action to make that horrible prebinge feeling go away. The cool thing is that we are designed so that the feeling will pass through us on its own—in time. All we have to do is sit there and feel what is going on inside of us. We must experience the feelings. To help us deal with the feelings, we can call someone on our support team. We can also express the feelings by focusing on our breath or even hitting a pillow. The important thing to remember is that no matter how terrible, feelings do pass. It takes patience and trust—not food . . .”

FeelingsTrustEmotionsStressPatienceRecoveryEating DisorderBingeing
Book:Life Without Ed: How One Woman Declared Independence from Her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too
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“In the past, my brain could only compute perfection or failure—nothing in between. So words like competent, acceptable, satisfactory, and good enough fell into the failure category. Even above average meant failure if I received an 88 out of 100 percent on an exam, I felt that I failed. The fact is most things in life are not absolutes and have components of both good and bad. I used to think in absolute terms a lot: all, every, or never. I would all of the food (that is, binge), and then I would restrict every meal and to never eat again. This type of thinking extended outside of the food arena as well: I had to get all of the answers right on a test; I had to be in every extracurricular activity […] The ‘if it’s not perfect, I quit’ approach to life is a treacherous way to live. […] I hadn’t established a baseline of competence: What gets the job done? What is good enough? Finding good enough takes trial and error. For those of us who are perfectionists, the error part of trial and error can stop us dead in our tracks. We would rather keep chasing perfection than risk possibly making a mistake. I was able to change my behavior only when the pain of perfectionism became greater than the pain of making an error. […] Today good enough means that I’m okay just the way I am. I play my position in the world. I catch the ball when it is thrown my way. I don’t always have to make the crowd go wild or get a standing ovation. It’s good enough to just catch the ball or even to do my best to catch it. Good enough means that I finally enjoy playing the game.”

FoodStressRecoveryGood EnoughPerfectionismEating Disorder
Book:Goodbye Ed, Hello Me: Recover from Your Eating Disorder and Fall in Love with Life
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“Anita Johnston, Ph.D., author of Eating in the Light of the Moon, taught me to look in the mirror with curiosity rather than fear. So I may look at my reflection and think, 'That's interesting. I wonder why my body seems bigger today than it did yesterday. Maybe it's water weight. Maybe it's my outfit. Or maybe my eyes are just playing tricks on me.' I know it's not possible for me to gain a noticeable amount of weight overnight, so I will go no further than that. I move on with my day without skipping a beat-and definitely without missing a meal.”

ThinkingKnowsLooksMayBodyLightSeemsEyeTodayMovingWaterInterestingWonderMissingTaughtAmountMoonEatingBeatsReflectionGainsWeightBiggerMirrorsCuriosityYesterdayTricksMeals
Author:Jenni Schaefer
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“Sometimes I felt lonely because I pushed people away for so long that I honestly didn't have many close connections left. I was physically isolated and disconnected from the world. Sometimes I felt lonely in a crowded room. This kind of loneliness pierced my soul and ached to the core. I not only felt disconnected from the world, but I also felt like no one ever loved me. Intellectually, I knew that people did, but I still felt that way.”

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Author:Jenni Schaefer
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“Connect with supportive people who empower you. The more you jump into your life, the further away from Ed you can get. Don't have a backup plan for living. Live today. [...] Trust in God. Believe in yourself. Get friends and family members to stand behind you. That's the only backup you'll need.”

PeopleNeedsBelieveTodayBehindsPlansMembersEmpoweringBelieve In YourselfTrust In GodFamily And FriendsBelieve In YouSupportiveBehind YouLive For TodayFamily MembersBackupBackup Plan
Author:Jenni Schaefer
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“Intense pain often pushed me to make changes. The pain of the eating disorder pushed me into recovering from eating-disordered behaviors, and then the emotional turmoil I experienced without those behaviors (not knowing how to cope with perfectionism, feelings, and life in general) took me even further, so that I ultimately found serenity.”

FeelingsPainFoundKnowingEmotionalBehaviorEatingIntenseDisorderSerenityNot KnowingMaking ChangesPerfectionismTurmoilEating DisorderRecoveringEmotional TurmoilIntense Pain
Book:Goodbye Ed, Hello Me: Recover from Your Eating Disorder and Fall in Love with Life
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