Running for Recovery

I'd like to start by telling you a little about myself.  My name is Samantha, I'm 26 years old, and I have an eating disorder. 

I have been in various stages of recovery but am still working toward it with the help of a strong support system including my family & friends, my therapist, and my psychiatrist.  
It has not been easy to open up to even those closest to me, there's a lot of anxiety about being seen differently or judged.    I feel like if I have the potential to help other people and fight for a good cause that means a lot to me, it's worth the perceived risk. 

That being said, fitness is always a tricky subject when it comes to eating disorders.  Many of those with ED (including myself) have used exercise as a method of purging.  Excessive exercise or compulsive exercising can be very damaging.  Often times, recovery teams discourage exercise, which is completely rational, but for me it has been a key factor in my recovery.

Which brings me to the point of this GoFundMe.  As some of you may know, running is a very important part of my life.  At times it's been the only thing that's kept me sane, the only way to relieve my anxiety.   I'm currently training for my first full marathon starting May 29 and ending October 1 (the day of the marathon). I'm using an 18 week training program and through help from my support system and therapist, I am commited to training in a healthy way.  I've been successful with this in the past so I'm confident I can do it again. This means making sure I eat enough to compensate for the vigorous exercise, while also making sure I tend to my mental and emotional health in the process. 

I've decided to use this opportunity to help others by raising money for a non-profit organization I feel strongly about.  Project HEAL was founded by two young women who met in treatment as teenagers. They are both in recovery now but during their treatment they learned how broken the system can be and how hard it was for people to get the help they need when it can be so very expensive.  
They created Project HEAL with the mission of "providing grant funding for people with eating disorders who cannot afford treatment, promoting healthy body image and self esteem, and serving as a testament that full recovery from an eating disorder is possible."
Project HEAL is an incredible organization run by incredible people. 

For more information about Project Heal please visit their website and Facebook pages:
 http://theprojectheal.org/
 https://facebook.com/ProjectHEAL/

Southeast Michigan chapter for those local to me:
 https://m.facebook.com/ProjectHEALSoutheastMI/

I've decided to commit myself to donating  $1 for every mile I run during training.  Some days it will be 3 or 5 bucks, some days it may be 15 or 20. My total by the end of training will be $490.  I don't expect anyone to match my donation or even come close but every penny counts and I would love your support.  I'm setting the goal high because I don't want to limit myself and if there's one thing I am, it's determined. 

To give you an idea of what your donation would go toward:

$100 – 1 hour nutritionist appointment
$150 – 1 hour therapy appointment
$250 – 1 ½ hour family therapy appointment
2,000 – 1 week of intensive aftercare for a recipient
$6,000 – 1 year of full outpatient treatment for a recipient
$30,000 – 1 month of full residential treatment for a recipient


It's not easy for me to openly talk about my personal issues but I hope that you'll take that to show how much I care about this matter.  Everyone deserves the resources necessary for recovery.  Everyone deserves recovery.