Gaining Independence for Your One Precious Life

When your relationship with nutrition and nourishing yourself is complicated by any condition, from diabetes to an eating disorder, it can take most, if not all of your attention away from the rest of your life. 

This was true for one of Nancy King’s past clients who was under the tight grip of anorexia nervosa. They were so consumed by their anxious thoughts around food and their body they were barely making it through their college work and ultimately couldn’t pursue their passion of art history. 

Seeing her client struggle like this was difficult, but it made it that much more rewarding to witness them take strides in their recovery. They eventually got to a point where they weren’t thinking about food 24/7 and could instead begin to think about what they wanted to do with “their one precious life.” With this newly gained independence, her client went back to college on scholarship and took charge of their life. 

A pencil drawing by a client at Your Life Nutrition (MM) illustrating them holding their own puppet strings after having felt released from the controlling puppetry of the eating disorder.

Nancy has seen how “sometimes when we experience a shift or transformation in how we look at life [like recovering from an eating disorder], it is hard to explain in words.” She appreciates how some of her clients choose to turn to wordless forms of art to express how they experience recovery. Art can provide a means for  self-expression without the constraints of chronology or wording that may come with writing. 

Over the years, some of Nancy’s clients have shared their artwork with her about their recovery journey, illustrating their emotions, triumphs, struggles and possibilities for new ways of living their lives. Nancy believes that it is “really such a privilege” that her clients share this very personal work with her. 

Through art or words, it is beautiful to see how clients document their recovery journey. That is why the Your Life Nutrition (YLN) team is starting a series on Instagram of artwork -with or without words- from clients on what gaining independence from their nutrition struggle feels like to them. These posts are meant to celebrate these clients as well as inspire others that freedom from their conditions is possible. 

Supporting their clients in being freed up from nutrition concerns through self care and self respect is at the heart of YLN’s values. “We partner with each client so that they become an expert on themselves, from how to take care of their body’s uniqueness to its limitations.” 

This is so that at some point they may need periodic check-ins, but no longer need regular sessions with the RDNs as they have the tools to address their nutrition concerns themselves.
Nancy describes witnessing a client gain agency in their life as they are recovering from their nutrition struggle, “As their life begins to open up more, It’s like fireworks in slow motion. I see them taking risks and making decisions that in the past would frighten them, but now they make with certainty and a sense of self.”