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Portia de Rossi

Portia de Rossi Books

Actress

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“I don't know where this pressure came from. I can't blame my parents because it has always felt internal. Like any other parent, my mother celebrated the A grades and the less-than-A grades she felt there was no need to tell anybody about. But not acknowledging the effort that ended in a less than perfect result impacted me as a child. If I didn't win, then we wouldn't tell anyone that I had even competed to save us the embarrassment of acknowledging that someone else was better. Keeping the secret made me think that losing was something to be ashamed of, and that unless I was sure I was going to be the champion there was no point in trying. And there was certainly no point to just having fun.”

SuccessEffortPerfectionPressureCompetitionUnbearable LightnessPortia De Rossi
Book:Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
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“Being sick allows you to check out of life. Getting well again means you have to check back in. It is absolutely crucial that you feel ready to check back into life because you feel as though something has changed from the time before you were sick. Whatever it was that made you feel insecure, less than, or pressured to live in a way that was uncomfortable to you has to change before you want to go back there and start over.”

WayWantFeelsWellsMeanMadeChangedReadySickChecksUncomfortableCrucialInsecureStarting OverGet WellThings Have ChangedPressuredBeing Sick
Book:Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
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“She'd tell me how she'd handle the backhanded compliment by smiling and pretending she was receiving a genuine compliment all the while ignoring their attempt to be insulting. After all, it's the way an insult is received that makes it an insult. You can't really give offense unless someone takes it.”

WayGivingGenuineHandleInsultComplimentPretendingReceivingOffenseInsultingInsults YouBackhanded Compliments
Book:Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
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“I could tell by his expression that once he got over his anger at me for keeping this secret from him, there was nothing left to talk about. He wasn't confused. He didn't need questions answered. He didn't ask why or how or with whom or whether I thought maybe it might just be a phase. He didn't ask who knew and who didn't know or whether I thought it might ruin my career. I was his sister and he didn't care whether I was straight or gay; it simply didn't matter to him.”

KnowsNeedsMatterMightCareAsksLeftSecretCareersExpressionGayRuinsConfusedPhases
Book:Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
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“I wondered if that's what aging felt like. That desire and reality were dueling until the day you die, that nobody every got to a place of peace. I had always wanted to get old so I didn't have to care anymore, but I began to think that it would be best just to skip the getting older part and just die.”

IfsThinkingRealityWould BeCareWantedDesireDiesFeltAgingGetting OlderSkipDuelingPlaces Of Peace
Book:Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
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“I finally understood that by being on a perpetual diet, I had practiced a "disordered" form of eating my whole life. I restricted when I was hungry and in need of nutrition and binged when I was so grotesquely full I couldn't be comfortable in any position by lying down. Diets that tell people what to eat or when to eat are the practices inbetween. And dieting, I discovered, was another form of disordered eating, just as anorexia and bulimia similarly disrupt the natural order of eating.”

PeopleNeedsWholeFormLyingOrderNaturalPracticePositionComfortableEatingUnderstoodWhole LifeHungryDietsPerpetualNutritionAnorexiaDietingBulimiaNatural OrderLying DownAnorexia And Bulimia
Book:Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
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“I began to see myself as someone who can help others understand diversity rather than feeling like a social outcast. Ellen taught me to not care about other people's opinions. She taught me to be truthful. She taught me to be free. I began to live my life in love and complete acceptance. For the first time I had truly accepted myself.”

PeopleFirstsHelpingFeelingsCareSocialOpinionAcceptanceTaughtDiversityFirst TimeAcceptedHelping OthersTruthfulLiving My LifeOutcastBeing TruthfulSocial Outcast
Book:Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
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“The diet industry is making a lot of money selling us fad diets, nonfat foods full of chemicals, gym memberships, and pills while we lose a piece of our self-esteem every time we fail another diet or neglect to use the gym membership we could barely afford.”

SelfUseLosesPiecesFailingSelf EsteemIndustrySellingEsteemDietsNeglectGymChemicalsLots Of MoneyPillsMembershipFadsFad Diets
Book:Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
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“And dieting, I discovered, was another form of disordered eating, just as anorexia and bulimia similarly disrupt the natural order of eating. "Ordered" eating is the practice of eating when you are hungry and ceasing to eat when your brain sends the signal that your stomach is full. ... All people who live their lives on a diet are suffering. If you can accept your natural body weight and not force it to beneath your body's natural, healthy weight, then you can live your life free of dieting, of restriction, of feeling guilty every time you eat a slice of your kid's birthday cake.”

PeopleIfsFeelingsBodyKidsFormSufferingOrderForceNaturalBrainAcceptingPracticeFoodHealthyEatingWeightYour BodyHungryGuiltyDietsStomachCakeLive Your LifeSignalsRestrictionAnorexiaDietingBulimiaNatural OrderFeeling GuiltyBirthday CakeBody WeightHealthy WeightAnorexia And Bulimia
Author:Portia de Rossi
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