By Sue Wambolt, Contributing Writer
Southborough/Northborough – For 2010 Algonquin Regional High School graduate Dayna Altman, heading off to Providence College to pursue a degree in social work brought excitement and eager anticipation. Being a perfectionist, though, it was not long before the pressure of school and the desire to excel in every area caused her to feel out of control. Like many young women, Altman turned to food as her source of control. She began actively restricting her food intake. As Altman struggled with perfectionism and “finding herself” as an adult, her eating disorder escalated, and it was not long before she was battling anorexia.
“My disorder developed pretty rapidly; there was no gradual beginning, so right as I began to notice the changes in my anxiety and mood levels, as well as my food intake, I sought help, not knowing what was wrong, but knowing something was. I went to my school's medical center and was under a doctor's careful eye. I also saw a school counselor who helped me work through the emotional pieces of my disorder,” Dayna said.
According to Dayna, there is never and “end” to anorexia and other eating disorders. Recovery, she said, never gets a day off. While much of recovery takes place in treatment and in therapy, the real work and the real recovery occurs in the world. For Dayna, recovery also means helping others who struggle with eating disorders or issues with self-worth.
In September 2011, Dayna and her sister, Jamie, a junior at Algonquin, launched Beayoutiful.org with the goal of creating a movement. Although they agree that it might be overly ambitious, they want to see a change in the way beauty is defined. Dayna is determined to see it through.
“Like my commitment to recovery, I am not planning on giving up on this,” she said.
For the sisters, making string bracelets for one another has been a way to connect during this difficult time. The bracelets have been a source of solidarity – a common thread knitting them together.
“Both Jamie and I have a love to make bracelets,” Dayna said. “We have gone to camp our entire lives and have learned how to make the classic friendship bracelet. Our love for making bracelets has allowed us to connect on a different level and sparked the idea for the Beayoutiful.org website. We have had the passion to make a ripple in the world for a long time, but never knew how. The website features over 40 different types of bracelets; each one is $5 and is named after someone who inspires us. In addition to the bracelets, we also have the Beayoutiful.org movement videos on our website. It is an honor to be able to inspire these women to find their true beauty and to tell their stories. We hope everyone who wears a bracelet feels empowered and feels beautiful.”
All of the money from bracelet sales is donated to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) (go to www.nationaleatingdisorders.org).
“Some days it feels easier to go back to where I was in my disorder, ” Dayna said, “but I made the commitment to recovery. And this is where the work comes in, keeping that commitment. The feedback we have gotten from our website has helped me keep that commitment. Learning about other's recovery journeys, and learning how they kept the commitment, is what gives me hope. It is because of these stories that I keep fighting.”
Two sisters, one dream.