"When I was anorexic it just seemed like I literally wanted to disappear. And now I would like to reappear"
About this Quote
The pivot to “now I would like to reappear” lands because it rejects the usual redemption script. She doesn’t say “I’m cured” or “I love myself.” She chooses a verb that’s almost theatrical. Reappear suggests agency: stepping back onto the stage after being absent from your own life. It also hints at how recovery is less about a single breakthrough than about re-entering the world in increments - taking up space, tolerating visibility, letting your physical presence be read without trying to edit it down.
There’s an elegant bite in the contrast between “literally” and “would like.” The first is stark inevitability, the second is desire returning. That’s the subtext that makes it work: the shift from compulsion to preference, from vanishing as a solution to existing as a choice. In a culture that still romanticizes “disappearing” bodies, she frames reappearing as the bravest kind of rebellion.
Quote Details
| Topic | Mental Health |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Rossi, Portia de. (2026, January 16). When I was anorexic it just seemed like I literally wanted to disappear. And now I would like to reappear. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-was-anorexic-it-just-seemed-like-i-96581/
Chicago Style
Rossi, Portia de. "When I was anorexic it just seemed like I literally wanted to disappear. And now I would like to reappear." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-was-anorexic-it-just-seemed-like-i-96581/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"When I was anorexic it just seemed like I literally wanted to disappear. And now I would like to reappear." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-was-anorexic-it-just-seemed-like-i-96581/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
