You are a courageous young woman who appears to have everything together. It is a challenge for you to find yourself as you've become best friends with the mask you hide behind. Being strong and pretending that everything is okay has gotten you far in life.
Your eating disorder gives you a mask to wear so you do not have to face the number on the scale as it has become your “frenemy”. It controls how you feel about your body and your overall sense of self. You turn your focus to food and pick apart your body as a way to cope with your internal demons.
Your learning disorder has made solicited those messages you’ve heard from others or from what you tell yourself: you’re stupid, you’re slow, and you’re different.
Your anxiety has paralyzed you at times and you are often consumed with thoughts of anxiety and worry.
You do not know who you are without the protection of the smokescreen. It is exhausting. You no longer want to hide behind the mask or to listen to those whispers of doubt from the outside world and from within yourself.