The problem is that when you struggle with mental illness you forget that it isn't the norm. It isn't normal to see someone with a tube taped to their face and scars covering their body. It isn't the norm to see someone sobbing for hours or pacing around unable to sit down.
But to a person that has spent long period of time in a hospital environment, this becomes something you see on a daily basis, it becomes so normal you are immune to the shock that others may experience witnessing the same sights.
You see, our world becomes mental illness. We live and breathe it. We are surrounded by it each day, each night. It becomes normality. We become immune to the affects of other struggles to a certain extent. This in turn downplays our own struggles because it is normal to see I'm others, therefore it is normal to see in ourselves.
So for a sufferer of Anorexia Nervosa who is institutionalised in such a way, seeing people who are so underweight, it becomes so normal. You don't think "gosh they're emaciated", it's just another person. It puts so much pressure on you when you are surrounded by people who are underweight and suffering. There is always someone thinner; after all you re in a unit for Anorexia. But if you were to be out in the real world you wouldn't always have that person thinner (who coincidently could be any size with such a distorted view) to compare yourself to.
Living in the real world, it gives you back that sense of reality. It shows you the true meaning of life and gives you am idea of what you're missing out on. You see people going to work and school. You see couples walking down the street. You regain an idea of what a 'normal' life entails. A life that doesn't have to be exciting every minute of the day, but is peaceful.
You see life beyond the four walls of a hospital, and certainly beyond mental illness. It's not easy, but it's possible 100%. If it's possible for others to live life, then it's possible for you too!
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