Introduce yourself to the 7 Cups Eating Disorder Community!
Hello! I'm Lily and I'm in recovery from EDNOS. I've reached a healthy weight and am eating enough regularly, but I still struggle a lot with behaviors and body image. Nice to meet you all!
@hhherezy - Welcome! And congratulations on being in recovery and at a healthy weight - it's absolutely still a struggle even in recovery to work on some of those behaviours and body image, but it sounds like you're already making some great progress. What do you think would be the most helpful thing for you as you continue to heal?
Hi....I'm Alex. I'm trying to overcome Bulimia. I binge and purge. I don't know what caused it, but i started eating to the point where my stomache hurt right after. So if i notice that I'm eating too much, then i purge the next day. And what worries me is that a part of me says its a good way to main tain a healthy weight.....help? ._.
@4L3Xx - That's a scary place to be, when you start noticing that eating disorder voice telling you things like 'this is normal' or 'this is a great way to maintain a healthy weight'. I think one thing that can be really helpful is to keep separating out the ED voice from your healthy voice and recognizing even when those thoughts come up that they are not healthy you thoughts, they are ED thoughts. Being able to separate them makes them easier to start to drown out or discount.
In terms of maintaining a healthy weight that way, I know it can feel like purging is a good way to deal with having overeaten the day before, but actualy, restricting and purging are more likely to make us binge again than to stop the cycle. It's hard to let yourself be okay with a binge, but if you feel like you've eaten too much, the best thing you can do is to forgive yourself, and move forward eating a normal amount the next day to help your body remember what normal is, rather than keeping it in a cycle of too much and too little.
YOu can fight this and you can beat it - I believe in you. If you ever need some extra support, you can always reach out. Stay strong!
yoyoyo!! my name is brittany and i suffer with anorexia. i was first diagnosed with anorexia when i went inpatient for the first time in november 2015. i have struggled with self esteem and body image issues ever since primary school. i am in recovery but things are still tough and relapse happens. nice to meet everyone!!!
@xbritx - Hi Brittany, and welcome! I'm glad you're here! I completely agree that even in recovery things can be tough and relapse can happen. I think having people you can talk to about what you're going through who have been there can be really helpful in hanging onto recovery and continuing to fight those relapses.
What are some of the things you've found most helpful in recovery to this point?
Hi everyone! I am new around here and I am trying to figure out how things work , also I want to apologise in advance for my English - I am not a native speaker.... I am Andreea and a am trying to overcome my Bulimia. I reache to the point where I binge eat at least 3 times a week and a take laxatives to keep my weight at a steady level. I honestly do not know what to do anymore... I joined 7 cups with the aim of finding a balance in my life . I am delighted to meet you all! If someone wants to talk about their problems with I will listen with no hesitation. May all if you find the inner peace you are looking for. Have a nice day :)
@calmCranberry1488 - Hi Andrea, I'm glad you found 7 Cups and I hope it's helpful in finding that balance you're looking for. I can definitely relate to a lot of what you've said and would be happy to help support you in recovery if you are interested. I think that it can be hard to break that cycle of bingeing and then trying to make up for it, but it is possible and I think you can get there!
Hello everyone, it's nice to meet all you lovely people :)
My name is Megan and I suffer from anorexia nervousa type two and it's a b*tch. Well what eating Disorder isn't.
Recovery is possible you just have to keep at it and fight as hard as you can.
Remember it's a bully not a friend :)
Hope we can help each other out, keep fighting you brave souls 🕺💃
@charmingStrawberries22 - You are so right! ED is a bully, not a friend, and most importantly, you are so much stronger than it! Keep fighting and don't hesitate to reach out if you need some extra support. Stay strong!
Hello everyone! I'm Aaddy, I've been suffering from eating disorders for about 5 to 6 years. From binge eating, to starving myself for weeks, I have come a long way from where I was, emotionally. I have body-image (and gender dysphoric) issues. And my mind is full of irrational, non-existent fears... It feels a bit better knowing that I'm not alone in this.
@Specler - You are absolutely not alone in this, and I'm glad you're here! If you ever need some extra support, don't hesitate to reach out. Stay strong, lovely!
Hi! My name is Agustina and I'm from Argentina. I've been having eating disorders for 7-8 years. It started with a bad relationship with the girls in my classroom (I was in high school at the moment), and I went anorexic, fortunately I was stopped before I did some serious damage to myself, but no mater how much weight I loosed I always saw myself fat. Then, the bulimia begun, I felt like I completely lost control. And now a I'm going trough a binging stage, mostly without purging, only once in a while. This has caused me to feel depressed (really severe at some points where I even contemplated suicide), being obsessed with what and how I eat and having a terrible self esteem. I joined 7 cups in hope to have at least someone who listens to me and help me cope with some situations, and I found some great help here and I feel happy about the choice I took when I joined.
@sincereBeach6883 - I'm so glad that you joined 7 Cups and have found the support you were looking for! Your story is a familiar one for me (and likely others) - it's so easy for one eating disorder to morph into another over time and it can be hard to find the balance between restricting and binging. I hope that your recovery journey continues and you keep finding great support here! *hugs*
Hi! Nice to meet you all.
I've struggled with eating disorders for a long time now. I was first diagnosed as having sub-clinical anorexia. Later with non-purging bulimia, which I tried to get treatment for. I honestly don't think it helped at all, since I don't purge and it gave me some bad ideas. Anyway, techniqually they said I had bulimia because I was using restriction and weight loss aids as a way of purging after a binge. I guess usually I would just say I had EDNOS the whole time, but eating disorders change over time.
I am planing to work towards recovery currently, but I don't really have assess to much support yet, but I am planning to use books I got about recovery, an app on my phone, and other resorces I found online. Even if I don't fully recover, I want to try and make steps towards being healthier in both mind and body this year.
@resourcefulPond1641 - I'm really proud of you for deciding to take steps towards recovery! It's absolutely harder without the support of formal treatment, but I do think that if you're committed to it, there is a lot of progress that can still be made if those aren't possible. And if you need some extra support along the way, you can always feel free to reach out! Stay strong, lovely!
@Anomalia Thank you for your kind words! 
Hi everyone
I suffer from ED since I was little but this is the first time I actually post on ED forums. I'm aware of my problem probably since I was in college but haven't found a successful way to deal with it as of this day. Well, there were certain periods when the eating problem had subsideded or so I was thinking but it would always came back
I am also diagnosed with depression and I'm taking AD's for a quite long ( have been on [edited by Anomalia to remove medication specifics]) and it seemed that first period after being introduced to antidepressants was at the same period when my binge eating calmed down - but after some time it got back in the game. During all these years ( maybe until three years ago) I was able to maintain more-less some healthy weight and feel more-less good within my skin - of course in the days of bringing I was still very out of control self hateful etc.
But nowadays - I'm 32, a mother of one, unemployed, writing a PhD and staying at home ( slowly engaging into some work with students though) the situation is at its worst : my binge periods last longer that "normal eating" days - I don't even know what is normal eating anymore, I'm unable to hold a diet for more than a few days, and I'm emotional and physical mess. I think I look and feel so bad as I have never before.
I fall into a magical circle. Any advices, help? I want to change - I just don't know how to get out!
Tnx for reading
@Erinaa - I think you've already taken a really good first step in reaching out for support here - it's hard to heal on your own, and hopefully having other people to support you through it will help.
In terms of some practical things, I think a great first step is to understand your triggers - that means figuring out when you're binging if it tends to happen at a similar time, with similar foods, around similar people, when you're having certain feelings, etc. What things make you likely to binge? Once you have those identified, it's easier to start to work on other ways of dealing with those situations and being able to move forward with recovery.
One other thing that helped me a lot was to institute a 'waiting period' - essentially, if I have the urge to engage in an ED behaviour, I tell myself it's allowed, but I have to wait 20 minutes first and fill that time with a recovery oriented activity or distraction. Sometimes I still end up there, but often that permission calms me down enough to focus on something else for those 20 minutes and by the time they're up, the urge is lower and I can resist it.
Hope that's helpful - feel free to reach out if you could use someone to talk to.
Hey Guys, My name is Ash I live in the USA, I oram very happy to be part of this community! I have struggled in the past with eating disorders, so i know how stressful and hard it can be to recover! My goal is to me a LCSW and work with teens and young adults that struggle with eating disorders, self harm, bpd and other thing :)
@Ash1998 - Welcome! I'm glad that you're doing well in recovery and able to help support others!
