Eating disorders HELP

As has been said many times in the forums about eating disorders, seek professional help. That is your best bet if you really want help.

Hey

I was anorexic in my teens and the thing that really helped me turn a corner was realising that I was missing out. I was missing out on parties (since I was too worried about the eating/drinking at them), on dating (since I didn't want to go out for dinner/drinks with anyone) and on being spontaneous (I couldn't decide to head into town shopping after school with friends since a) I didn't have the energy, and b) it would have ruined my carefully laid (controlling!) plans). I realised that I'd lost friends over my eating, and that I wanted to focus on other things - that there was more to life than food.

Once I realised that I wanted these things more than I wanted to lose weight, I managed to get my restricting under control.

The fact that you've made this post is wonderful - it suggests that you're beginning to want to change. At the end of the day, changing is a decision. You are not going to make up one morning and be 'cured' however much you'd like that. You are going to have to tell yourself "Right. Today is the day when I have a proper breakfast. And when it gets to lunchtime I'm not going to restrict because I had a proper breakfast, but I'm going to have a proper lunch" and so on. And you're going to have to ban yourself from working out too much. Basically, it's a decision which only you can make.

One thing my counsellor suggested to me is to try being 'normal/healthy' just for one day. Just one day of eating properly and not exercising to excess, after which, if you want, you can go back to your old habits. I did this and, the next day, realised that a) I hadn't suddenly put on loads and loads of weight, and b) I was hungry again - that my body needed food despite 'all' I'd eaten the day before. This made it easier for me to eat properly and exercise normally the next day, and so on. I really found that it's the first step which is the hardest.

You also need to consider why you've got a problem. Do you want to be thin, or is there some other reason why you've taken control over your eating like this? For me, it was growing up: I felt very scared of getting a 'woman's body', and of everything that came with that (having to be an adult, male attention etc) and so I tried to stay a little girl. You need to sort this trigger in your head so that your problems don't reappear.

Feel free to PM me if you want.

HTH

xx

I don't know much about the treatment for eating disorders, but I do know that using behavioral psychology really helped me to overcome harmful habits. I think the first step is being able to recognize what "healthy" looks like and acts like. After you can recognize that idea, some suggestions for modifying behavior are:

1. Make a list of reasons why you want to overcome your eating disorder and remind yourself of them regularly. Hang the reasons on the refrigerator or tape them to your car dashboard if you feel comfortable doing so.

2. Brainstorm for alternatives during times when you are most likely to revert. For example, if you struggle with restricting food during times of stress, make a plan for what you can do. Enlist someone's support to take you out to eat, or whatever you think will work for you. Plan your meals to have enough calories and to ensure that you are eating regularly.

Other topics in behavior modification are using a reward system to get you started (like reward yourself after two days of doing well, then one week of doing well, then one month), making a contract with yourself, enlisting a support system or "buddy" to keep you accountable, things like that. Maybe you could even find a support system at a nearby hospital so you can get some insight from others who are struggling as well? It's great that you've decided to talk about it -- we all need support to make major life changes!

if you cant beat it by yourself then you need professional help. see your GP to start with and perhaps see if there are support groups in your area.

The thing with recovery from EDs is you have to want to really really want it as its such hard work. Its often too easy to just give up and go bk to old behaviours. Its also important to remember to take things one day at a time... you didnt wake up sick one day these habits developed slowly and therefore the recovery will also be slow.

I've had a couple of clients with eating disorders. While the number one thing I recommended to them was professional therapy, I found that when they started their therapy, I still needed to help them deal with food and exercise on a day to day basis. Don't get me wrong, therapy is great and neither of the girls I've helped with this issue could have gotten past it without therapy. But therapists can't follow you around 24/7 to see what is going in your body or how much you are exercising. For both of my bulimic clients, I made them journal. Not necessarily their food intake because that would make some people feel guilty and prone to purging. They had to journal every time they purged and all of their exercise. I gave them a good hard workout every time we had a session so they didn't feel like they had to over exercise to get results and I looked at their journals. I wasn't judgmental if they purged a lot, just reinforced that it is a long tough process and they will get better. But if I saw a day that they didn't purge I praised them for it. I set rewards of massages and facials and other pampering type things for a week of no purging or over exercising. (Never reward with food or clothing as those things feed the ED.) It took a long time to heal for both of the ladies I've worked with on this and one of them still tells me about struggling with the urges from time to time. But it can be done! You can do this!!!!! If you have a close friend that you trust with keeping you accountable, ask them to check your journal every week. Even if you don't have someone you trust with that yet, journal for yourself and set your goals around a day or a week of not giving in to your ED. :HUGS: