--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think people realize, when…" description: "\"I don't think people realize, when they're just getting started on an eating disorder or even when they're in the grip of one, that it is not something..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bc/marya-hornbacher-2109_about-yourself_i-don-t-think-people-realize-when-they-r_1701614.jpg" --- # I don't think people realize, when they're just getting… ![“I don't think people realize, when they're just getting started on an eating disorder or even when they're in the grip of one, that it is not something that you just "get over." For the vast majority of eating-disordered people, it is something that will haunt you for the rest of your life. You…” quote by Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bc/marya-hornbacher-2109_about-yourself_i-don-t-think-people-realize-when-they-r_1701614.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bc/marya-hornbacher-2109_about-yourself_i-don-t-think-people-realize-when-they-r_1701614.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bc/marya-hornbacher-2109_about-yourself_i-don-t-think-people-realize-when-they-r_1701614.jpg) > “I don't think people realize, when they're just getting started on an eating disorder or even when they're in the grip of one, that it is not something that you just "get over." For the vast majority of eating-disordered people, it is something that will haunt you for the rest of your life. You may change your behavior, change your beliefs about yourself and your body, give up that particular way of coping in the world. You may learn, as I have, that you would rather be a human than a human's thin shell. You may get well. But you never forget.” [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Eating disorders are chronic; they may be managed but never fully erased, leaving lasting psychological impact. **In simple terms:** Disorders linger despite recovery. Key Takeaway Accept ongoing healing, not total erasure. Themes mental health recovery stigma Mood reflective empathetic Type personal narrative educational When to use this quote - therapy - support groups - personal reflection - education campaigns Key Concepts chronic illness identity coping mechanisms Questions to Reflect On - How do you support someone whose disorder persists? - What habits promote lasting mental health? A Different Perspective Recovery may be incomplete, requiring lifelong self‑compassion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about-yourself/) [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Change Your Beliefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-your-beliefs/) [Coping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coping/) [Eating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating/) [Eating disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating-disorder/) [Get well](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/get-well/) [Getting started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-started/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Rest of your life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest-of-your-life/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Personality disordered people do not take too favorably to having their faults pointed out, regardless of how gently the topic is broached.   Intermittent”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-thomas/personality-disordered-people-do-not-take-too-favorably-to-having/) [Shannon Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-thomas/) > [Intense pain often pushed me to make changes. The pain of the eating disorder pushed me into recovering from eating-disordered behaviors, and then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/intense-pain-often-pushed-me-to-make-changes-the-pain-of-the-eating/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [There are many reasons why I might cut, but in general it is a way of coping when I cant deal with things in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-cole/there-are-many-reasons-why-i-might-cut-but-in-general-it-is-a-way-of/) [Hannah Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-cole/) > [I've always been in the theater. I've always gone to it. That's been my way to cope. Early on in my career, I remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-pacino/i-ve-always-been-in-the-theater-i-ve-always-gone-to-it-that-s-been-my/) [Al Pacino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-pacino/) > [“Sometimes I just think depression’s one way of coping with the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-vizzini/sometimes-i-just-think-depression-s-one-way-of-coping-with-the-world-2/) [Ned Vizzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-vizzini/) > [I always felt a bit alone and isolated from other people...I did a lot of pretending as a child. It was my way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keanu-reeves/i-always-felt-a-bit-alone-and-isolated-from-other-people-i-did-a-lot/) [Keanu Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keanu-reeves/) > [I went back to the stage because it was my way of dealing with the success I had, my way of coping. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-pacino/i-went-back-to-the-stage-because-it-was-my-way-of-dealing-with-the/) [Al Pacino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-pacino/) > [Memory loss is one way of coping with damage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/memory-loss-is-one-way-of-coping-with-damage/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I think my way of coping is like: 'None of this is real, or this is just a simulation, what I'm going through right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harris-dickinson/i-think-my-way-of-coping-is-like-none-of-this-is-real-or-this-is-just/) [Harris Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harris-dickinson/) > [“We distract ourselves with details. It's a way of coping.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-taylor/we-distract-ourselves-with-details-it-s-a-way-of-coping/) [Andrew Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-taylor/) > [“Sometimes fiction is a way of coping with the poison of the world in a way that lets us survive it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/sometimes-fiction-is-a-way-of-coping-with-the-poison-of-the-world-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The Visa bill has been almost manageable lately." "Don't you think that maybe buying things was just her way of coping with her loneliness?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-caldwell/the-visa-bill-has-been-almost-manageable-lately-don-t-you-think-that/) [Janine Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-caldwell/) > [Leaving things behind and starting again is a way of coping with difficulties. I learnt very early in my life that I was able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/leaving-things-behind-and-starting-again-is-a-way-of-coping-with/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [So when you're dealing with an existential threat like death or like climate change, if you see it as 'we are all toast anyway,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-inglis/so-when-you-re-dealing-with-an-existential-threat-like-death-or-like/) [Bob Inglis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-inglis/) > [My way of coping with the day to day news cycle, which can be a lot, following every undulation of the news, I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-spector/my-way-of-coping-with-the-day-to-day-news-cycle-which-can-be-a-lot/) [Morgan Spector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-spector/) ## More by Marya Hornbacher > [“Something had been confirmed: I was worth giving a shit about; I was getting to be a successful sick person. Sick is when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/something-had-been-confirmed-i-was-worth-giving-a-shit-about-i-was/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [Because I'm not, in fact, depressed, Prozac makes me manic and numb - one of the reasons I slice my arm in the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/because-i-m-not-in-fact-depressed-prozac-makes-me-manic-and-numb-one/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“perhaps our purpose is, for the time being, to be human, to live on this earth and in this human community, to receive something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/perhaps-our-purpose-is-for-the-time-being-to-be-human-to-live-on-this/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [I have never been normal about my body. It has always seemed to me a strange and foreign entity. 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Very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/at-a-certain-point-an-eating-disorder-ceases-to-be-about-any-one/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [You can't teach an ear, you can't teach talent, but you can teach people who have those things not to just fly by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/you-can-t-teach-an-ear-you-can-t-teach-talent-but-you-can-teach/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [It's really interesting to me how all of us can experience the exact same event, and yet come away with wildly disparate interpretations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/it-s-really-interesting-to-me-how-all-of-us-can-experience-the-exact/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“Being here, living now, recognizing our smallness, is a spiritual practice. It allows us to be at peace with our humanity. It humbles us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/being-here-living-now-recognizing-our-smallness-is-a-spiritual/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [We think of bulimia and anorexia as either a bizarre psychosis, or as a quirky little habit, a phase, or as a thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/we-think-of-bulimia-and-anorexia-as-either-a-bizarre-psychosis-or-as/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [The anoretic operates under the astounding illusion that she can escape the flesh, and, by association, the realm of emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/the-anoretic-operates-under-the-astounding-illusion-that-she-can/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [If I had been a different sort of person, maybe less impressionable, less intense, less fearful, less utterly dependent upon the perceptions of others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/if-i-had-been-a-different-sort-of-person-maybe-less-impressionable/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“Every morning I watched the sun rise and read a highly religious little meditation book and tried having a conversation with God. I waited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/every-morning-i-watched-the-sun-rise-and-read-a-highly-religious/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [My bones are brittle, my heart weak and erratic, my esophagus and stomach riddled with ulcers, my reproductive system shot, my immune system useless...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/my-bones-are-brittle-my-heart-weak-and-erratic-my-esophagus-and/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [One really ought to be afraid of self-torture. But it tempted me. It begged. The dark place that my mind was fast becoming blends,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/one-really-ought-to-be-afraid-of-self-torture-but-it-tempted-me-it/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) [Explore all 185 Marya Hornbacher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) ## More About yourself quotes > [“they all have always loved you Will Herondale, for you cannot hide what is good about yourself, however har you try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/they-all-have-always-loved-you-will-herondale-for-you-cannot-hide/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/if-you-can-t-love-yourself-how-in-the-hell-you-gonna-love-somebody/) [RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/) > [People are in denial all the time, hiding things. If I tell you a racist or dirty joke and you laugh, you're telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/people-are-in-denial-all-the-time-hiding-things-if-i-tell-you-a/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) > [Change your thoughts, change your life. —LAO TZU When I was fighting depression, I remember hearing this expression and not understanding it at first.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/change-your-thoughts-change-your-life-lao-tzu-when-i-was-fighting/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [Dreams really tell you about yourself more than anything else in this world could ever tell you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/dreams-really-tell-you-about-yourself-more-than-anything-else-in-this/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) > [Celebrate all the things you don't like about yourself. love yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/celebrate-all-the-things-you-don-t-like-about-yourself-love-yourself/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [Start enjoying the things you like about yourself, and if there are things you want to change, either get to work on it or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benji-madden/start-enjoying-the-things-you-like-about-yourself-and-if-there-are/) [Benji Madden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benji-madden/) > [Always be yourself. There's only one you. You should embrace anything that you don't like about yourself because that's individual and that's you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesy-nelson/always-be-yourself-there-s-only-one-you-you-should-embrace-anything/) [Jesy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesy-nelson/) > [It's too distracting to read about yourself. You want to be perfect and you want everyone to love you, and that's never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saoirse-ronan/it-s-too-distracting-to-read-about-yourself-you-want-to-be-perfect/) [Saoirse Ronan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saoirse-ronan/) > [If you want to know how to make people shun you and laugh at you behind your back and even despise you, here is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-you-want-to-know-how-to-make-people-shun-you-and-laugh-at-you/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [The only thing a master can teach is how to learn about yourself. 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Then tell the truth to yourself about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/start-telling-the-truth-now-and-never-stop-begin-by-telling-the-truth/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) [Browse all 770 About yourself quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about-yourself/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't think people realize, when they're just getting started on an eating disorder or even when they're in the grip of one, that it is not something that you just \"get over.\" For the vast majority of eating-disordered people, it is something that will haunt you for the rest of your life. You may change your behavior, change your beliefs about yourself and your body, give up that particular way of coping in the world. You may learn, as I have, that you would rather be a human than a human's thin shell. You may get well. 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