Table of Contents
Foreword 7
About Kate 12
Introduction 13
Part 1 What's Eating The Wallflower 19
Chapter 1 Why Are You So Quiet? 20
Early Struggles with Social Anxiety and Fitting In 20
The Pressures of Puberty 24
My Parents' Influence 29
Branching Out as an Individual 31
Hallelujah, I'm a Lesbian 34
My Sister's Encounter with Self-Harm 38
Chapter 2 My Quarter-Life Crisis 41
Overwhelmed by the limitless World 41
Beginning to Play with My food 43
College, the Existential Quest 45
Second Guessing Gay 49
My Big Eat Discreet Breakdown 55
Chapter 3 My Secret Battle With Food 59
A Day in the Life of an Eating Disorder 59
My First Time in Therapy 68
Misinterpreting Eastern Philosophy 69
The Transience of Apple Pie 73
Chapter 4 The Road to Recovery 75
Someone to Share the Eight With 75
The Ugly Face of Bulimia 82
Finding Freedom in Letting Go 91
Part 2 10 Life Tips To Heal You From Self-Harm 98
Chapter 5 Reflect On The Root Causes Of Your Behavior 105
20 Reasons I Starved Myself 107
Chapter 6 Stop Playing The Victim 116
Chapter 7 Make Time To Make Peace With Your Body 122
Chapter 8 Speak Up And Ask For What You Need 140
Chapter 9 Trust Your Intuition 146
Chapter 10 Make Choices That Make You Happy 151
Chapter 11 Spend Your Energy Wisely 157
Stop Trying to Please Everyone 158
Choose Friends and Romantic Partners Who Accept You for You 160
Limit Exposure to Environments and Personalities that Drain You 163
Align Your Everyday Work with Your Personality 164
Exercise Just Enough But Not Too Much 166
Chapter 12 Organize Your Living Space To Promote Wellbeing 168
Chapter 13 Eat Mindfully, But Not Neurotically 176
Chapter 14 Check In With Yourself As You Evolve 193
Chapter 15 Final Words 201
Additional Resources 206
Acknowledgments 221
About the Author 224