Rachael's Road to Recovery
Donation protected
Rachael's spiral into her eating disorder and self harming behavior seemed to come out of nowhere to those closest to her, and in many ways, even to herself. She started tutoring and saving her money when she was 11 years old, but between the anorexia and medical bills, Rachael lost her dream house, her job, family, friends and her life savings. Her eating disorder has slowly taken away so many things she loved and valued; but it was the people that walked away from her that hit hardest, including her employer of 14 years. She was laid off while she was in the hospital even though she was a top producer for the Fortune 500 company, she had given so much of herself to for years.
> Many times eating disorders originate from past trauma or abuse and the feeling of being out of control. It's NOT about food or even looking desirable. Often it's just the opposite. Starving to look unattractive can be a strong defense mechanism to help protect themselves, by providing a false sense of security. Subconsciously, an anorexic will want to look as unattractive as possible to protect themselves from sexual attention due to traumatic or abusive instances. It’s been a long, hard road, thus far, for Rachael and her dedicated husband, Rod, trying to find the right solutions that best suit Rachael’s needs in overcoming her long, vicious battle with Anorexia. With the compassion and knowledge of her treatment team in Southern California (which consist of multiple specific medical professionals) Rachael has found herself in great healing hands after a long struggle to find even the smallest success over the past 10+ years. Rachael has fought to find her own path to her freedom from her eating disorder and wants to share all that she has encountered so other patients have access to other unique research options.
Going through so many different eating disorder facilities, she found them unable to transition her properly back into the real world, Rachael was left feeling as if she was a product of what is known as "recycle therapy," meaning she was unintentionally groomed to fail and repeat treatment due to the lack of knowledge and know how that exists in this field; so many treatment centers have a very linear view due to the lack of funding and support and the fact that food is used as a reward or punishment.
Rachael's family has been told to say goodbye more times than they can count but each time, by the grace of God, Rachael has miraculously recovered. However, this was not possible without some challenges physically, mentally and financially. Over time, she has had multiple organs fail, lost her ability to walk as well as use of her hands and arms and has had her body atrophy so badly she couldn’t move her mouth to speak. Although Rachael is far from recovered at this time due to biological failures, (stomach flu, pancreatitis and a distended gall bladder) she is now finding strength through motivating and helping others through her own experiences.
She is completely committed to her recovery, but now she can see a bigger picture, helping others in need and creating awareness and education for the disease. "We need to bring eating disorders out of the shadows and into the spotlight. " says Farrokh. She would not be alive today, if it wasn’t for donations and prayers from friends, family, and strangers all over the world. Our team is not only trying to save Rachael's life, we hope that through her journey, she can help and motivate others suffering as well in whatever hardships life uses to challenge them. Join us in helping others by starting a movement to solve the complexities of what eating disorders represent and not be a host to this parasite any longer.
> Many times eating disorders originate from past trauma or abuse and the feeling of being out of control. It's NOT about food or even looking desirable. Often it's just the opposite. Starving to look unattractive can be a strong defense mechanism to help protect themselves, by providing a false sense of security. Subconsciously, an anorexic will want to look as unattractive as possible to protect themselves from sexual attention due to traumatic or abusive instances. It’s been a long, hard road, thus far, for Rachael and her dedicated husband, Rod, trying to find the right solutions that best suit Rachael’s needs in overcoming her long, vicious battle with Anorexia. With the compassion and knowledge of her treatment team in Southern California (which consist of multiple specific medical professionals) Rachael has found herself in great healing hands after a long struggle to find even the smallest success over the past 10+ years. Rachael has fought to find her own path to her freedom from her eating disorder and wants to share all that she has encountered so other patients have access to other unique research options.
Going through so many different eating disorder facilities, she found them unable to transition her properly back into the real world, Rachael was left feeling as if she was a product of what is known as "recycle therapy," meaning she was unintentionally groomed to fail and repeat treatment due to the lack of knowledge and know how that exists in this field; so many treatment centers have a very linear view due to the lack of funding and support and the fact that food is used as a reward or punishment.
Rachael's family has been told to say goodbye more times than they can count but each time, by the grace of God, Rachael has miraculously recovered. However, this was not possible without some challenges physically, mentally and financially. Over time, she has had multiple organs fail, lost her ability to walk as well as use of her hands and arms and has had her body atrophy so badly she couldn’t move her mouth to speak. Although Rachael is far from recovered at this time due to biological failures, (stomach flu, pancreatitis and a distended gall bladder) she is now finding strength through motivating and helping others through her own experiences.
She is completely committed to her recovery, but now she can see a bigger picture, helping others in need and creating awareness and education for the disease. "We need to bring eating disorders out of the shadows and into the spotlight. " says Farrokh. She would not be alive today, if it wasn’t for donations and prayers from friends, family, and strangers all over the world. Our team is not only trying to save Rachael's life, we hope that through her journey, she can help and motivate others suffering as well in whatever hardships life uses to challenge them. Join us in helping others by starting a movement to solve the complexities of what eating disorders represent and not be a host to this parasite any longer.
Organizer
Rachael Farrokh
Organizer
San Clemente, CA