This song completely described the life I was living and how I was feeling on the inside. This verse particularly hits home for me.

“You should know you’re not on your own
These secrets are walls that keep us alone
I don’t know when but I know now
Together we’ll make it through somehow”

To read the full article, please click here:  Patrick’s Story on the National Eating Disorders Associations Website

Live Strong,

Patrick

“Little by little, one travels far.” — J. R. R. Tolkien

I woke up early this morning to dive into my daily Battlefield of the Mind devotional and the chapter just happen to be entitled; Little by Little.  It immediately had me thinking about the above quote for Tolkien and then I was relating it back to life and recovery!   Early on in my recovery, I wanted it to just happen! I wanted that quick fix to a problem that spanned over 5 years of my life but as we all know, there is no easy road to recovery.   There is no quick fix but it is possible, more than possible!  I am living out my recovery every day because little by little I walked (sometimes crawled) through it!  My recovery was never perfect but I kept inching forward.   Recovery is a game of inches and every inch counts.   My point here is to encourage you to not get discouraged about slow and steady progress.  Remember, always aim for progress, never perfection.  

The devotional focused on the story of Moses, the people of Israel and the Promise Land.  After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, God spoke to them and the land was there’s to take.  However, they couldn’t just walk into the Promise Land because it was now occupied by other people so they had to go in and fight for every foot of ground– even though it was their inheritance.  God has blessings waiting for us, just like he had the Promise Land waiting for the people of Israel but they had to take action to get the victory.   This is just like recovery– it’s there if we want to take it but we have to work hard every single day.  I was so encouraged by this because I truly believe God has so many blessings for us when we seek him daily and take ACTION DAILY!  For anyone who is in recovery, see it as your Promise Land and fight for it!  Remember, every inch forward counts because “little by little, one walks far!” 

God Bless,

Patrick

Deuteronomy 7:22

–The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you.

Stop holding onto that which is destroying you! Let it all go! There is nothing good about ED! Let me repeat, there is nothing good about ED! It will take everything from you…but recovery can and will give you all that you need!! Break the chains once and for all today!  Stop thinking you can’t recover and start knowing you can!  Start claiming the truth.

You are not your eating disorder or whatever addiction or negative habit you struggle with. I struggled with both anorexia and alcohol. The world labeled me as an anorexic and alcoholic and for awhile I believed it. NOT ANYMORE– I stopped believing these outrageous lies and started living and recovering in the truth.  I am not those things, I am a beautiful child of God! I am an over-comer and I have claimed victory over my struggles through my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  I am now all in for Jesus and all in for recovery….

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN TO GO ALL IN FOR RECOVERY!  WILL YOU  ANSWER THE CALL??

Love and Blessings,

Patrick

Philippians 4:13

There is nothing wrong with putting a bit of SWAGGER into your recovery. Your ED doesn’t play fair, so why should you? So I say we hold our heads high and walk through recovery with a bit of Swag– couarage, strength, confidence, guts, and determination! It’s time to stand up to ED and say NO MORE! You will take no more from me!!

Strength

Within

And

Gradual

Growth

Empower

Recovery

God Bless,

Patrick

“I think people probably couldn’t see the effects,” Bergstrom, now 28, told HuffPost, explaining that at the time, his behavior could best be defined as disordered eating. “I was in great shape and I was still able to play.”

But after graduating, Bergstrom all but gave up food. Soon, he was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and told that if he did not get help, he would be dead within a year.

To read the full article, click here.

Patrick Bergstrom is a male athlete from Hagerstown, Maryland who for four years struggled with both anorexia nervosa and alcoholism.  Bergstrom’s disorder nearly claimed his life when in March of 2008 he sought treatment at Canopy Cove in Florida.  In treatment he not only regained his health but discovered an incentive to share his story and help others experiencing similar adversities.  After treatment he founded I Chose to Live, a recovery movement with the purpose of encouraging others to choose life over struggle and addiction.  He also became a resource person for The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) and The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD).  In addition, Bergstrom has done public speaking events across the country in order to provide awareness and prevention.  I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to sit down with Bergstrom to discuss his inspirational recovery, the misconceptions about men and eating disorders and the positive perspectives he gained after overcoming his eating disorder.

To read the full article, click here.

Stay connected with I Chose To Live on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates on my speaking.  The events for 2012 will be posted as they are scheduled.

Speaking to the 7th and 8th grade students on eating disorder awareness, prevention and recovery.  This will be both educational and inspirational.  The goal is to close out there Eating Disorder Health Unit and to inspire them to live healthy, empowered lives….

The objective of this presentation is to give the audience a real life example of an eating disorder, to provide education/resources, to share the hope of recovery and to break down the stigma those who suffer from eating disorders face.  Eating Disorders are not choices but recovery is possible.