grey thinking's Profile

I had a therapist tell me that I could be a vegetarian AFTER recovering from anorexia. After challenging all my food fears and incorporating meat back into my diet, THEN I could re-evaluate and decide to be a vegetarian for purely moral beliefs. This brings up a familiar sticking point for me (which I have written about before — see my Dr. Drew should treat EDs post): “This may be normal but I can’t engage in it because I have an eating disorder” (like with skipping meals when you are sick and don’t feel well or training for a marathon). Anyone else can be a vegetarian for any reason that they want… I, on the other hand, can’t because of my ED history. It’s healthy for them… but not for me?

I understand my therapist’s point — if the vegetarianism is a part of the eating disorder, then it needs to be addresses and overcome. If it’s a truly moral thing, I can go back to it after getting over my fear of eating meat. But at the same time, if I’m eating enough and doing well in my recovery, who cares if I choose not to eat meat?