Eating disorder recovery -
In rare cases, you may need more support than can be provided on an outpatient basis. Residential treatment programs offer around-the-clock care and monitoring to get you back on track.
The goal is to get you stable enough to continue treatment at home. While seeking professional help is important, don't underestimate your own role in recovery.
The more motivated you are to understand why you developed an eating disorder, and to learn healthier coping skills, the quicker you will see change and healing. The following tips can help:. It may seem like eating disorders are all about food—after all, your rules and fears about dieting and weight have taken over your life.
But food itself isn't the real problem. Disordered eating is a coping mechanism for stress or other unpleasant emotions. You may refuse food to feel in control, binge for comfort, or purge to punish yourself, for example.
But whatever need your eating disorder fulfills in your life, you can learn healthier ways to cope with negative emotions and deal with life's challenges.
The first step is figuring out what's really going on inside. Are you upset about something? Stressed out? Is there an intense feeling you're trying to avoid? Are you eating to calm down, comfort yourself, or to relieve boredom?
Once you identify the emotion you're experiencing, you can choose a positive alternative to starving or stuffing yourself. Even though food itself is not the problem, developing a healthier relationship with it is essential to your recovery. Most people with eating disorders struggle with issues of control when it comes to food—often fluctuating between strict rules and chaos.
The goal is to find a balance. Let go of rigid eating rules. Strict rules about food and eating fuel eating disorders, so it's important to replace them with healthier ones. Don't diet. The more you restrict food, the more likely it is that you'll become preoccupied, and even obsessed, with it.
Think of food as fuel for your body. Your body knows when the tank is low, so listen to it. Eat when you're truly hungry, then stop when you're full. Stick to a regular eating schedule. You may be used to skipping meals or fasting for long stretches. But when you starve yourself, food becomes all you think about.
To avoid this preoccupation, try to eat every three hours. Plan ahead for meals and snacks, and don't skip! When you base your self-worth on physical appearance alone, you're ignoring all the other qualities, accomplishments, and abilities that make you beautiful.
Think about your friends and family members. Do they love you for the way you look or who you are? Chances are, your appearance ranks low on the list of what they love about you—and you probably feel the same about them.
So why does it top your own list? Placing too much importance on how you look leads to low self-esteem and insecurity. But you can learn to see yourself in a positive, balanced way:. Make a list of your positive qualities. Think of all the things you like about yourself. Are you smart?
What would others say are your good qualities? Include your talents, skills, and achievements. Also, think about negative qualities you don't have. Stop body checking. Pinching for fatness, continually weighing yourself, or trying on too-small clothes only magnifies a negative self-view and gives you a distorted image of what you really look like.
We are all very bad at detecting visual changes in ourselves. Your goal right now is to learn to accept yourself—and that shouldn't depend on a number on the scale or a perceived flaw you think you see in the mirror.
Perhaps we make self-deprecating jokes about our appearance, criticize a celebrity for gaining a few pounds, or when we greet friends, we focus on how they look—their new outfit or newly toned physique, for example.
But focusing on appearance—our own or others—only leads to feelings of body dissatisfaction. Challenge negative self-talk.
We all have negative thoughts about our appearance from time to time. The important thing is not to base your self-worth on these thoughts. Instead, when you catch yourself being self-critical or pessimistic, stop and challenge the negative thought.
Ask yourself what evidence you have to support the idea. What is the evidence against it? Just because you believe something, doesn't mean it's true. Dress for yourself, not others. You should feel good in what you wear. Pick clothes that express your personality and make you feel comfortable and confident.
Stop comparing yourself to others. Even people without an eating disorder experience feelings of anxiety and inferiority when they compare themselves to others on social media. People exaggerate the positive aspects of their lives on Facebook, Instagram and the like, brushing over their flaws and the doubts and disappointments that we all experience.
If necessary, take a break from social media —and toss the fashion magazines. Even when you realize that the images are pure Photoshopped fantasy, they can still trigger feelings of insecurity.
Stay away until you're confident they won't undermine your self-acceptance. Pamper your body. Instead of treating your body like the enemy, look at it as something precious.
Pamper yourself with a massage, manicure, facial, a candlelight bath, or a scented lotion or perfume that makes you happy. Stay active. While it's important not to overdo it with exercise, staying active is good for both your mental and physical well-being.
The key is to differentiate between compulsive exercise—which is rule-driven, weight-focused, and rigid—and healthy exercise that is rule-free, fun, and flexible.
Focus on activities you enjoy and do them because they improve your mood, not because they might change how you look. Outdoor activities can be especially good at boosting your sense of well-being.
The work of eating disorder recovery doesn't end once you've adopted healthier habits. It's important to take steps to maintain your progress and prevent relapse. Develop a solid support system. Surround yourself with people who support you and want to see you healthy and happy.
Avoid people who drain your energy, encourage disordered eating behaviors, or make you feel bad about yourself. Or are difficulties at work or in your relationship likely to trigger your disordered eating habits?
Know what your early warning signs are, and have a plan for dealing with them, such as going to therapy more often or asking for extra support from family and friends.
Avoid pro-ana and pro-mia websites. Don't visit websites that promote or glorify anorexia and bulimia. These sites are run by people who want excuses to continue down their destructive path.
Keep a journal. Writing in a daily journal can help you keep tabs on your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. If you notice that you're slipping back into negative patterns, take action immediately.
Stick with your eating disorder treatment plan. Don't neglect therapy or other components of your treatment, even if you're doing better. Follow the recommendations of your treatment team.
Fill your life with positive activities. Make time for activities that bring you joy and fulfillment. Try something you've always wanted to do, develop a new skill, pick up a fun hobby, or volunteer in your community. The more rewarding your life, the less desire you'll have to focus on food and weight.
If you do lapse, don't beat yourself up. Recovery is a process—and that often involves setbacks. Don't let feelings of guilt or shame derail your recovery, but think about how you'll handle the same situation next time. Remember: One brief lapse doesn't have to turn into a full-blown relapse.
National Eating Disorders Association or call National Eating Disorders Association. Beat Eating Disorders or call Helpfinder. Butterfly Foundation for Eating Disorders or call 33 National Eating Disorders Collaboration. Service Provider Directory or call NEDIC. Advice for parents, family members and friends offering support.
Signs, symptoms, causes, and treatment options for anorexia. How it can help with anxiety, depression, PTSD, substance abuse, and more. BetterHelp makes starting therapy easy.
Take the assessment and get matched with a professional, licensed therapist. Millions of readers rely on HelpGuide. Having an organized approach to eating disorder treatment can help you manage symptoms, return to a healthy weight, and maintain your physical and mental health.
Whether you start by seeing your primary care practitioner or some type of mental health professional, you'll likely benefit from a referral to a team of professionals who specialize in eating disorder treatment. Members of your treatment team may include:. It's best if everyone involved in your treatment communicates about your progress so that adjustments can be made to treatment as needed.
Managing an eating disorder can be a long-term challenge. You may need to continue to see members of your treatment team on a regular basis, even if your eating disorder and related health problems are under control.
You and your treatment team determine what your needs are and come up with goals and guidelines. Your treatment team works with you to:. Psychological therapy is the most important component of eating disorder treatment.
It involves seeing a psychologist or another mental health professional on a regular basis. Your psychologist or other mental health professional may ask you to do homework, such as keep a food journal to review in therapy sessions and identify triggers that cause you to binge, purge or do other unhealthy eating behaviors.
Registered dietitians and other professionals involved in your treatment can help you better understand your eating disorder and help you develop a plan to achieve and maintain healthy eating habits. Goals of nutrition education may be to:. Medications can't cure an eating disorder. They're most effective when combined with psychological therapy.
Antidepressants are the most common medications used to treat eating disorders that involve binge-eating or purging behaviors, but depending on the situation, other medications are sometimes prescribed.
Taking an antidepressant may be especially helpful if you have bulimia or binge-eating disorder. Antidepressants can also help reduce symptoms of depression or anxiety, which frequently occur along with eating disorders.
You may also need to take medications for physical health problems caused by your eating disorder. Hospitalization may be necessary if you have serious physical or mental health problems or if you have anorexia and are unable to eat or gain weight.
Severe or life-threatening physical health problems that occur with anorexia can be a medical emergency. In many cases, the most important goal of hospitalization is to stabilize acute medical symptoms through beginning the process of normalizing eating and weight.
The majority of eating and weight restoration takes place in the outpatient setting. Day treatment programs are structured and generally require attendance for multiple hours a day, several days a week. Day treatment can include medical care; group, individual and family therapy; structured eating sessions; and nutrition education.
With residential treatment, you temporarily live at an eating disorder treatment facility. A residential treatment program may be necessary if you need long-term care for your eating disorder or you've been in the hospital a number of times but your mental or physical health hasn't improved.
Eating disorders can cause serious health problems related to inadequate nutrition, overeating, bingeing and other factors. The type of health problems caused by eating disorders depends on the type and severity of the eating disorder. In many cases, problems caused by an eating disorder require ongoing treatment and monitoring.
You are the most important member of your treatment team. For successful treatment, you need to be actively involved in your treatment and so do your family members and other loved ones. Your treatment team can provide education and tell you where to find more information and support.
There's a lot of misinformation about eating disorders on the web, so follow your treatment team's advice and get suggestions on reputable websites to learn more about your eating disorder.
Examples of helpful websites include the National Eating Disorders Association NEDA , as well as Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders F.
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Show references Eating disorders. National Institute of Mental Health.
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