Izabella Miko Instagram – Hiding diet pills and laxatives from my parents at 9 years old seemed normal to me…I’m still working through the psychological trauma and what I now know was abuse while I was in ballet school as a child. Growing up in Poland, pursuing a professional dance career meant one path only: surviving the state-run ballet schools. There were no private alternatives. For parents whose children dreamed of nothing but dance, I was that child, supporting this path felt like the only choice. We were also told it was all “good for us”. I tried to control as much as I could (food and the amount I trained) so I could even have a shot. Imagine “hating” becoming a woman? Having a goal of fitting flatly against a wall. I was there for about 5 years and then I got into the @sab_nyc School of American Ballet in NYC, where I finally learned what a healthy relationship with my body, teachers, and artistic aspirations could look like. Many of my friends who remained in the Polish system endured far worse for much longer. While we all acknowledge that this ‘tough love’ approach instilled discipline and resilience, we’re left wondering: was the psychological torment truly necessary? As a child in those state run schools you look at your ballet teacher, like they were some sort of a God, everything they said and decided was the ultimate truth, the ultimate sentence. I still struggle with that voice telling me that “I’m nobody and I will never be anybody” When I hear it, I picture hugging that little girl so tightly and I tell her that she’s perfect just the way she is, but most importantly I listen to her. I’m sending love to anyone today who sustained any type of trauma or abuse as a child. I pray you heal it all. You gotta feel it all first, which is what I’ve been focusing on. Shadow work is where it’s at! We got this!
The whole interview is on @swiat.gwiazd thank you @_mateusz_szymkowiak for asking some great questions 🙂
#balletschool #healingjourney #healingtrauma #eatingdisorderrecovery #dancerslife #childhoodtrauma #baletnica #szkolabaletowa #bodydysmorphia #yougotthis #taniec #polskadziewczyna #polishgirl #tancerka #trauma #traumahealing #innerchild #innerchildhealing | Posted on 13/Feb/2025 00:48:21
