Before going to eating disorder treatment, I had no idea that feeling – just having emotions – could be so difficult and exhausting. All the feelings of shame, fear, guilt, anger, and pain have been brewing inside me for eighteen long years. Since the age of thirteen, I have suppressed these emotions by refusing to eat, exercising excessively, and other harmful behaviors. Now I’m learning how to allow myself to feel the full range of my emotions and live with them in a healthy balanced manner.
Knitting is the primary creative outlet through which I channel – not suppress – my anxiety and other emotions. I love working with my hands to produce something uniquely my own, and if what I produce can be an emotional support buddy for me and anyone else working hard to recover from an eating disorder or addiction, how much happier and more useful that makes me feel!
Meet my emotional support aliens, who hail from Planet Twylo and want nothing more than to radiate good vibes your way through their antenna! I had such fun coming up with this simple pattern, which is a quick and fun knit that can help bust your stash.
You can buy an alien in any color you choose in my Etsy shop. Are you a knitter? You can also buy the pattern to make an extraterrestrial buddy of your own!
Quail and Cotton 