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Navigating Eating Disorder Treatment as a Vegan Mikah Victoria shares her story and insights I was diagnosed with an eating disorder at the age of 16, and I entered a partial hospitalization program when I was 17. For 1 year before entering treatment, I had been vegan. When choosing a center to pursue treatment in, I found one factor that made me want to avoid recovery. Anti‐vegan policies When going onto the websites of most treatment centers, I found that they were united in not allowing veganism, vegetarianism, or any other dietary restrictions in their programs. and drank milk for four and a half months. This really hurt me, and I believe that it was a hurdle to overcome in my recovery. But it also allowed me to practice patience, motivated me to get out of there so I could eat what I wanted again, and gave me time to meditate on my philosophy. I think the time I spent having to eat vegetarian has given me a few key pieces of advice for people with the same struggle as myself. > The treatment center I ended up going to allowed vegetarianism, but not veganism. So I swallowed my pride seedling magazine | 8
Understand that your caregivers do want the best for you When I first entered my partial hospitalization program, I felt like the people in charge of my diet were trying to break me. I thought they wanted me to change my morals and make me give up on the things I felt most passionate about. As time went on and I progressed in my treatment, however, I realized that they weren't trying to convert me. They were in fact just trying to convince me to eat anything! As a habitual calorie restricter, it was my mind which was trying to break me. attachment. Many people I was in treatment with saw meat as a safe food and thus saw it as an inextricable piece of their psyche. I drew a parallel to this when analyzing my own prerecovery diet, in that I saw consuming an almost entirely fruitbased diet as a way to comfort myself from the ills of my disorder. Once I came to understand that certain foods were being used as coping mechanisms in different ways for different people, I realized that although I could see the cruelty in their dietary decisions, it was not the time to be showing them how they could change. I could save that for later. Once I realized that my caregivers were looking out for me, I found it easier to open up in group therapy, and I noticed that my ability to avoid restrictive urges was improving all because I felt that others cared. Mindfulness when eating was a make‐or‐break factor in my recovery Whilst I know that they cared about my wellbeing, I believe in my heart that they (my caregivers and the majority of people) are just not in a place where they can accept new ethical values. This leads me to my second point. When I first entered the partial hospitalization program, I ate robotically. Eating was a hurdle to get over before I could do things that I placed more value on. When reflecting on my history of restricting calories, I realized something that increased my ability to be mindful. An eating disorder recovery center is not prime real estate for converting people to veganism I'm very proud to say that in my life as a vegetarian and then a vegan, I have converted at least 4 people in my immediate friendship groups or family to plantbased diets. Because of this, I feel that I am a particularly good advocate for veganism/vegetarianism. My style of inspiration is (in my opinion) pretty lax. It generally consists of showing people that it isn't hard to change your habits, and exemplifying that plantbased eaters can be healthy and happy. Eating according to my values This doesn't just apply to eating vegan, it also applies to avoiding more harmful plant foods such as palm oil. I find that when I end up in a place where I must consume palm oil or animal products, I try my best to leave my body so as to feel less like a hypocrite. Less shame. Less guilt. These feelings of guilt, shame and, hypocrisy were very linked to my tendency to restrict. Since leaving the treatment program and resuming my plantbased diet, I have developed a better ability to be mindful; thus over time, I experience less and less guilt when I eat. > In a place as hostile as an eating disorder treatment center, my advocacy style briefly went out the window as I was confronted with a multitude of people who had eating patterns that I just couldn't understand (they likely couldn't understand mine either). I was shocked to see people who had not only a strong taste and traditionbased attachment to meat, but people who had an intense fearbased seedling magazine | 9
Page 1 and 2: seedling ISSUE #1 | OCT-NOV 2018 wi
Page 3 and 4: contents mind 19.......6 steps to c
Page 5 and 6: Wild and Vegan How foraging can str
Page 7: Chicken of the woods Japanese knotw
Page 11 and 12: let food be thy medicine Deborah Bo
Page 13 and 14: "Hippocrates knew the truth centuri
Page 15 and 16: Going to the zoo is often seen as a
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Page 19 and 20: 6 Steps To Conquering Self-Doubt Fr
Page 21 and 22: In 2015, the World Health Organizat
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Page 27 and 28: ed pepper and pumpkin soup with sod
Page 29 and 30: Tofu scramble Serves 4 to 6 Some re
Page 31 and 32: Tofu nuggets These healthy vegan to
Page 33 and 34: eautiful planet Appreciating the wo
Page 35 and 36: food not bombs Defiantly Highlighti
Page 37 and 38: organization was founded on is ‘s
Page 39 and 40: [Pause] How do you feel? Maybe you
Page 41 and 42: clients can finally shift their thi
Page 43 and 44: Caveman by Laura Maria Grierson Wai
Page 45 and 46: ookshops will tempt you with prelov
Page 47 and 48: Can Money Buy Happiness? by Elize L
Page 49 and 50: t "That is the route to happiness;
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Page 53 and 54: Taking Inspiration From Our Childho
Page 55 and 56: get involved Seedling magazine is l

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