Leave a testimony to help and help yourself
There is a significant moment in the recovery process for people with eating disorders, such as anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). When the time comes for discharge, saying goodbye to fellow patients and the professionals who have supported them is inevitable.
It is the moment when the person turns around, literally, as they leave the unit, but, at the same time and metaphorically, the person also turns around to look ahead, facing a change of course and a new opportunity in their life.
Understanding the symbolism of that precise moment, the nurses of the Eating Disorders Unit of the Subacute Hospitalization Unit of Sant Joan de Déu Numància, have developed a project in which we invite people who are discharged to leave a positive and hopeful message about their stay in the unit to the rest of the hospitalized people and to the entire team of professionals.
The aim of this initiative is to support hospitalized individuals, break taboos and, at the same time, raise awareness about this disease , highlighting first-person accounts, in order to make the public aware of the discrimination that exists towards this type of disorder.
The initiative is called "Volverse" and plays on the conjunction of two words: " vol " (declension of the verb " voler ", to want in Catalan) which appeals to what we desire, and "verse" which refers to oneself, to the act of wanting to observe oneself from within in order to know oneself better, even if it means taking a step back.
This nursing intervention of messages at the time of discharge for adolescents and adults suffering from an eating disorder represents the opportunity to recover the old ability to ask questions, where play predominates, understood as that place from which, as children, they played at being curious and did so seriously.
Development of the intervention: Tree of Life pairing and Tidal Model
Beneath the shelter of the Tree of Life, in this case represented by vinyl, but symbolized by the baobab tree, we will place our messages of hope and well wishes upon discharge, expressing gratitude for the care received in the unit. These messages are written on a postcard depicting a calm sea under a clear blue sky, alluding to Phil Barker's metaphor of life as an ocean of experiences in his Mental Health Recovery Model.
Asking questions, and questioning oneself, can be an opportunity to find an answer. An answer, in this case, to the right to ask questions at a time when despair pervades one's thoughts and when it's necessary to break free from the cycle of a single, fixed way of thinking. Writing opens the door to questioning answers that these people take for granted and that prevent them from moving forward.
An answer that departs from the paths of logic and, at the same time, reconciles them with themselves because it makes them live paradoxes, recover from strength and re-experience competence , achievement, surprising and liberating themselves, slowing the pulse of judgment that has them exerting control over their body and their thoughts and deprives them of an opportunity: hope.
This intervention offers a written opportunity for self-discovery and exploration of narrative style. Each voice is different, each distinct, unusual, unique.
The creativity of these first-person narrative voices is enhanced – with their sensations expressed through smells, textures, or tastes – as they aim to tell their own stories, and ours, based on their time in the unit. Imagination, surprise, and the discovery of the joy of playing for the sake of playing and experiencing achievement geared towards a healthy project are all fostered.
Why not join them in continuing to imagine the word hope ?
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