Recovering from Anorexia

When you have anorexia, the desire to lose weight becomes more important than anything else. You may even lose the ability to see yourself as you truly are. But youre not alone and recovery is possible. With the right treatment and support, you can break anorexias self-destructive pattern and regain your health and self-confidence.

You may try to lose weight by starving yourself, exercising excessively, or using laxatives, vomiting, or other methods to purge yourself after eating. This intense dread of gaining weight or disgust with how your body looks, can make eating and mealtimes very stressful.

And yet, food and what you can and cant eat is practically all you can think about. But no matter how ingrained this self-destructive pattern seems, there is hope. With treatment, self-help, and support, you can break the hold anorexia has over you, develop a more realistic body image, and regain a healthier balance in your life.

Tip 1: Learn to tolerate your feelings

When you start to feel overwhelmed by negativity, discomfort, or the urge to restrict food, take a moment to stop whatever youre doing and investigate whats going on inside.

✼Using mindfulness to cope with difficult emotions

>>Identify the emotion youre feeling- Is it guilt? Shame? Helplessness? Loneliness? Anxiety? Disappointment? Fear? Insecurity?

>>Accept the experience youre having- Avoidance and resistance only make negative emotions stronger. Instead, try to accept what youre feeling without judging yourself.

>>Dig deeper- Where do you feel the emotion in your body? What kinds of thoughts are going through your head?

>>Distance yourself- Realize that you are NOT your feelings. Emotions are passing events, like clouds moving across the sky. They dont define who you are.

Once you learn how to accept and tolerate your feelings, theyll no longer seem so scary. Youll realize that youre still in control and that negative emotions are only temporary. Once you stop fighting them, theyll quickly pass.

Tip 2: Challenge damaging mindsets

People with anorexia are often perfectionists and overachievers. Theyre the good daughters and sons who do what theyre told, try to excel in everything they do, and focus on pleasing others. But while they may appear to have it all together, inside they feel helpless, inadequate, and worthless.

✻ Damaging mindsets that fuel anorexia

>>All-or-nothing thinking- Through this harshly critical lens, if youre not perfect, youre a total failure. You have a hard time seeing shades of gray, at least when it comes to yourself.

>>Emotional reasoning- You believe if you feel a certain way, it must be true. I feel fat means I am fat. I feel hopeless means youll never get better.

>>Musts, must-nots, and have-tos- You hold yourself to a rigid set of rules (I must not eat more than x number of calories, I have to get straight As, I must always be in control. etc.) and beat yourself up if you break them.

✻ Put your thoughts on the witness stand

Once you identify the destructive thoughts patterns that you default to, you can start to challenge them with questions such as:

►Whats the evidence that this thought is true? Not true?

►What would I tell a friend who had this thought?

►Is there another way of looking at the situation or an alternate explanation?

►How might I look at this situation if I didnt have anorexia?

As you cross-examine your negative thoughts, you may be surprised at how quickly they crumble. In the process, youll develop a more balanced perspective.

Tip 3: Develop a healthier relationship with food

Even though anorexia isnt fundamentally about food, over time youve developed harmful food habits that can be tough to break. Developing a healthier relationship with food entails:

►Getting back to a healthy weight

►Starting to eat more food

►Changing how you think about yourself and food

✻ Letting go of Rigid Food Rules

While following rigid rules may help you feel in control, its a temporary illusion. The truth is that these rules are controlling you, not the other way around. In order to get better, youll need to let go. This is a big change that will feel scary at first, but day by day, it will get easier.

>>Get back in touch with your body- If you have anorexia, youve learned to ignore your bodys hunger and fullness signals. You may not even recognize them anymore. The goal is to get back in touch with these internal cues, so you can eat based on your physiological needs.

>>Allow yourself to eat all foods- Instead of putting certain food off limits, eat whatever you want, but pay attention to how you feel physically after eating different foods. Ideally, what you eat should leave you feeling satisfied and energized.

>>Get rid of your scale- Instead of focusing on weight as a measurement of self-worth, focus on how you feel. Make health and vitality your goal, not a number on the scale.

✻The role of meal plans

If you need to gain weight, a nutritionist or dietician can help you develop a healthy meal plan that includes enough calories to get you back to a normal weight. While you can do this on your own, youre probably out of touch with what a normal meal or serving size looks like. ( Healthy Meal Plan: https://goo.gl/NX3oOf )
Tip 4: Find a Safe Community >>Reach Out<<

You must find a safe community. Where can you talk and truly be yourself? Where you can accept this illness that you have in a safe and secure environment? Again, no one gets better from anorexia by himself. you must get fed and have a safe, supportive community to help you.

Getting back to a normal weight is no easy task. The thought of gaining weight is probably extremely frightening, and you may be tempted to resist.

But this fear is a symptom of your anorexia. Reading about anorexia or talking to other people who have lived with it can help. It also helps to be honest about your feelings and fears. The better your family and treatment team understand what youre going through, the better support youll receive.