A New Start: 2021

Everybody always talks about the new year like it's a magic portal where everything changes, and then they get disappointed when everything is the same as last year. It's the same thing every year, but "new year, new me" takes effort and most people don't do anything to make it come true, this year I'm doing it, let me explain to you how I'm truly getting my fresh start for 2021.

If you have read any of my previous stories, you'll know that I was diagnosed with an eating disorder, more specifically, anorexia nervosa. It's a very difficult disorder to manage and in 2020 I was putting off seeing my doctors and specialists for a little while or just telling the ones I did see that I'd try to get better on my own. I've recovered from my eating disorder on my own before and I was doing well after I recover, so I started telling myself that I've done it on my own before which means I can do it again. I was wrong and I'm changing my view on my disorder.

You could be wondering how I'm trying to give myself a new start this year, let me explain what I'm doing differently in 2021. The first thing that I've been doing is seeing my doctors and seeking more professionals who can help me. I currently have a social worker, my family doctor, and a dietician but this year I'm expanding my team and I will be getting in touch with a psychologist that specializes in eating disorders, as well as a psychologist to help me with my anxiety, depression and anger issues. On top of all of that, I've also started using a planner to track my eating, and for a good reason. I use that food planner because I'm very bad at remembering things and when my dietician asks me what I eat in a week, I can never remember so now I can show her everything I've written down and she'll get all the information she needs.

I find that I'm already doing a lot with my recovery, but it's not the only thing I'm focusing on for the new year. I've decided to start a few businesses to keep me busy in my recovery due to my inability to go to work or go to school. All of my businesses are online, which makes it easier on my body. With everything that I'm doing, I'm keeping myself very busy and I'm working extremely hard to make these businesses work so it can potentially be my career.

The last thing that I've decided to work on is my relationship. I've started communicating with my partner a lot more, we're slowly getting closer than we used to be, and we're arguing less than usual. We both decided to start fresh and learn to love each other all over again, and it's the best thing we could have done to help our relationship. We used to live together and after our new start, I moved out so we could have our own space and focus on ourselves. Living with someone means that you're always together, especially during the pandemic. Therefore, you don't get your alone time, and it may affect how you act around each other. This time apart is helping our situation tremendously and I couldn't ask for anything else.

In conclusion, every year doesn't have to end in the same disappointment, you just have to put the work in, and it'll pay off in the end. I'm doing everything I can to make 2021 a great year in all of this chaos so I can finally have my long-awaited fresh start.