What My Garden Taught Me About Eating Disorder Recovery
Published 3 months ago • 2 min read
Pictures of my garden
What Gardening Taught Me About Eating Disorder Recovery
Hi Reader,
I did not expect gardening to teach me anything about eating disorder recovery. I started because I needed somewhere quiet to put my hands after a long week of hard conversations.
But plants do not rush.A seed does not apologize for how long it takes to become something. It simply keeps its rhythm and trusts the process, even when nothing visible is happening yet.
I think about that a lot in this work.
Recovery is not linear either. There are seasons where nothing seems to change on the surface, and then one day, growth that was happening all along becomes undeniable. The sun and the rain do their quiet work long before the bloom appears.
Tending a garden by myself, with no audience and no urgency, has become one of the most restorative parts of my week.It is a place where I get to witness life sustaining itself. The sun feeds the leaves. The rain reaches the roots. Nothing is wasted and nothing is rushed.
I never want to take that for granted, in plants or in people.
Having something that is just mine, that asks nothing of me except patience and attention, has become one of my own coping tools for the harder parts of this work. I hear from so many of you that you have your own version of this. For some it is watching the sunrise or walking the beach. For others it is photographing beautiful family scenes, or the changing color of leaves through a season.
Whatever it is for you, it matters. Having a private, unhurried interest is not a luxury. It is part of what helps us stay steady enough to show up for our own recovery or for the people we love and care for.
Recovery, like a garden, needs both the storm and the stillness to actually take root.
What natural elements bring you peace? I would love to hear about it. Just hit reply, I read every response.
Warmly, Iris Epstein, RDN, CEDS, CAI Founder, Nutrition Improvement Center for Restrictive Disorders
Three handouts for caregivers supporting a loved one with an eating disorder. Through these brief guides delivered over several days, you’ll gain clarity, reassurance, and a better understanding of your role during meals.
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