“I know this is probably not what anybody wants to hear but, with me, it was like a rush,” she remembers. “It made me feel like I was in control. It made me feel that I had this power and only I could be over this power and, also, it relieves stress.”
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During her bulimic episodes, Monqueescha could lose up to 60 pounds in three months. It wasn’t until she entered a three-month, in-patient program at Eating Recovery Center in Denver, Colorado in 2008 that Monqueescha finally got the help she needed to turn her life around.
“The realization of seeing other people struggling, the group therapy that we had where there were thoughts that I could relate to, it really helped me out,” she says.
Though Monqueescha experienced a couple of relapses after her treatment, today, she is proud to say she hasn’t engaged in any bulimic behavior in the last two years thanks to continued therapy and work with ERC.
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She credits her adopted daughter, who is 8 years old, for giving her one reason to stay healthy.
“I don’t want her to grow up with an eating disorder and I don’t want to be that example that [binge eating] is OK,” Monqueescha says. “I know I’m doing it for myself but I’m also doing it for her so she doesn’t slip into that mode.”
If you or a loved one needs support or help for an eating disorder, contact the National Eating Disorders Association Helpline at 800-931-2237.