Last updated on September 1st, 2024 at 08:58 pm
Eating disorder recovery can seem like a long, never-ending journey. These anorexia recovery tips can help you stay strong during recovery.
Having strategies for when things get tough in eating disorder recovery can:
- Increase the likelihood of a full and lasting recovery
- Help you stay on track when emotions feel difficult
- Prevent an eating disorder relapse
- Give you peace during eating disorder recovery
There will be difficult days during the eating disorder recovery process. This does not mean we are doing anything wrong. This article will explore tips for working through some of the common challenges of anorexia recovery.
Anorexia Recovery Tips
1. Know Anorexia Recovery Is Not Linear
A hallmark of eating disorders is perfectionism. People in anorexia recovery often find themselves:
- Wanting to recover as quickly as possible
- Striving to be “the best” in the recovery process
- Wanting to do the steps of recovery perfect
I encourage you to think of the recovery process as a puzzle rather than a straight line.
You will typically only get one puzzle piece at a time and you must figure out how that puzzle piece fits into your life.
2. Acknowledge That Recovery Takes Time
Your eating disorder did not develop in a day. It likely evolved over years if not decades of time. You should expect a similar duration of time for a full recovery.
Remember:
- Wanting to “get recovery over with” will likely lead to short-term recovery success
- You need time to work through the emotions of recovery not just the behaviors
- Recovery doesn’t have a defined “start” and “stop” point
- Think of the recovery journey like playing a song. You don’t go through the motions of listening to music simply to get to the song’s end. You listen for the experience.
3. Build A Solid Support System
Eating disorders thrive in isolation. Keeping secrets about food and body dissatisfaction keeps the eating disorder around.
A support system in eating disorder recovery can help you:
- Plan out meals and snacks
- Ensure adequate intake
- Have someone to sit with you when difficult emotions come up
4. Utilize Recovery Books and Podcasts
Having a library of recovery books you can turn to when things get tough can be a huge motivation for eating disorder recovery.
- Find a recovery podcast you enjoy and listen to an episode daily. Save your favorite episodes for replay and low days.
- Read eating disorder recovery books or listen to audiobooks
- Be an engaged reader/listener, write down motivational takeaways
5. Keep a Journal
Writing down struggles and wins can be valuable during eating disorder recovery
- Use body positivity prompts if you struggle with what to write about
- Reread what you have written on difficult days for inspiration
- Commit to 5-10 minutes of daily journaling.
6. Change The Word Relapse To Relearning
Sometimes it might feel like you are taking one step forward and two steps back during recovery. However, this is simply not true.
It’s important to remember:
- New challenges don’t undo the work you’ve already done
- You might be experiencing old eating disorder behaviors but you have a new set of skills that weren’t there before to work through it
- Reframing the way you think about a challenge will help you get through it faster
7. Create A List Of Rewarding Activities
Restricting food can give you a sense of control over your life that can feel very rewarding. This destructive behavior can be difficult to find healthy behaviors to replace food restrictions with.
This is why it is important to keep a list of activities you can do when the urge to restrict strikes.
Keep a list of activities that:
- Make you feel good immediately such as playing an instrument or knitting.
- You can commit to practicing regularly so you get the biggest reward
- Are not difficult to access (for example, something like snowboarding often has high costs and can only be done during certain times of the year)
It’s also important to celebrate non-scale victories like challenging fear foods or doing a social media cleanse.
8. Keep A Box Of Wins
In eating disorder recovery, it can sometimes feel like you are constantly failing because the end goal seems so far away. You probably have a habit or looking at all the things that still need to change rather than the progress that you have made.
Here’s how you can create a box of wins
- Write down accomplishments on a Post-it note
- Put each Post-it note into a box with a lid
- Pull out notes on days when you feel discouraged
9. Practice Yoga
Yoga can be an excellent way to peacefully move your body. Your eating disorder has likely interrupted intuitive movement.
Please note, that yoga should only be used when your healthcare team tells you you are okay to do healthcare.
Yoga is a useful recovery tool because it helps:
- Teach you breathing skills to help reduce anxiety during recovery
- Helps you learn to move your body not for the purpose of weight loss
- Can help you connect to your body
10. Separate Facts and Feelings
Your eating disorder voice has a way of making feelings associated with eating disorders seem like facts. A helpful anorexia recovery tip is to really separate out the facts and feelings
Anorexia feelings might include:
- If you keep eating this food, you’re going to be 500lbs
- If you start eating your fear foods you will never stop
- People don’t really think you look good, they’re saying that just to be nice
When these types of thoughts come up, challenge them. Write them down and list out the reasons why you believe them. This will help you separate facts and feelings.
Coping With Eating Disorders
When you have an eating disorder, recovery can sometimes feel impossible. Give yourself grace in the process. It will take time to heal your relationship with food and your body image.
Here are a few tips to cope with an eating disorder:
- Practice small ways to respect your body each day
- Ditch the personal scale (relying on medical providers to collect weights)
- Keep recovery quotes around the house
- Write down your reasons to recover
- Challenge food rules
- Dismantle internal fatphobia
Average Recovery Time For A Person With Anorexia
The average duration of recovery for a person experiencing anorexia nervosa ranges anywhere from 1-5 years. For some people, recovery can last a decade or longer.
The length of time for anorexia recovery will vary greatly by:
- Your frequency of anorexia symptoms (restriction, binging, purging).
- The length of time you have experienced anorexia
- Access to appropriate anorexia treatment
- Your support network
- Age
There is no “right” length of time for anorexia recovery. Recovery will look different for everyone.
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