Recovery from an eating disorder (or disordered eating, if you prefer) is no simple task. You have been dealing with or even better, using it as a way to cope for a very long time. It is attached to you, stuck on you, and you are stuck on it. It is like a best friend who won’t go away, even when you are mad at her and demand she leave. You have needed her and until you no longer do, she will be with you.
You want to heal from your crazy relationship with food. Perhaps you have been trying to for a long time. How do you do it? How do you recovery from obsessing about food and how you look? How do you cope in healthy ways, not diet ways?
A client of mine was recently doing a Google search on this very question. “What are the steps to recover from an eating disorder?” she asked. Google couldn’t give her much information. Amazing, I thought when she told me this! I was surprised, saddened, shocked actually. Surely someone had published some sort of formula.
I had to take a look for myself. I found nearly nothing of much use. No wonder my client was so disappointed. There was some information that attempted to answer the question but nothing that was all that helpful, I thought. Something more is needed.
I became excited. I will do it! I can provide this information. I am currently working on a book that attacks this very question. I can tell people all about it. I can help people find their own path toward recovery. I can help them find the steps to not only get to the benefits of freedom with food but also to have a clear path to reaching it.
Okay, before I get myself (and you) too excited, allow me to deliver the more difficult news. There is no quick fix. You know that, already. I know. But I wanted to be sure that the desire you have for a quick, painless fix is spoken to. This is important. There is no quick fix and there is no such thing as avoiding the pain of recovery.
What is available are some steps to take that will help you get there. In fact, focusing on your relationship with food is one of the best ways to heal many of your wounds. In other words, taking these steps will simplify a very complex problem. How does that sound? If I can help make it simpler, more straight forward… give you a step by step path to take… wouldn’t that make this complex process a little easier? I think it would. It certainly did for me and I have seen it help many others as well.
Okay, what is the path then?
It is this: pick one food or body image related behavior at a time and work on it until it gets easy. When that step becomes easy, move onto the next behavior. One step at a time and with each step focus on what is going on inside of you, i.e. your emotions. This will propel you to heal and move to the next step.
Why does it work? When you stop doing the thing that you do to help yourself distract from your emotions (i.e. overeating, over exercising, dieting, etc), your emotions will come up. Feel your emotions and you won’t need that behavior to help you anymore. The next step of behaviors will bring up the next layer of feelings. Work on those until you are ready for the next step. Continue on this path and you will reach recovery.
What are the steps, specifically, you might be asking.
I have a special way to help you discover them. Very soon, I will be hosting a free telecall which will give you this information. During the call, I will give you the biggest steps and how to break them down into smaller steps. I will help you learn what emotions are underlying these behaviors and address what to do with them. By the end of the call, you will have a clear sense of your own first step so you can take it whenever you are ready.
This call will be recorded and available as a free gift for those who want to sign up for my bi-monthly newsletter.