Self-help For Eating Disorders: Learning Healthy Eating Habits

Learning and establishing healthy eating habits is an essential step in recovery from anorexia and bulimia.

Ø  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.

Self-help For Eating Disorders: Improving Your Self-Image

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?

Coping With Anorexia And Bulimia: Emotional Do And Don't Lists

Do…

Ø Allow yourself to be vulnerable with people you trust

Ø Fully experience every emotion

Ø Be open and accepting of all your emotions

Ø Use people to comfort you when you feel bad, instead of focusing on food

Ø Let your emotions come and go as they please without fear

Self-help For Eating Disorders: Learning New Coping Skills

Anorexia and bulimia aren’t about food. They’re about using food to cope with painful emotions such as anger, self-loathing, vulnerability, and fear. Disordered eating is a coping mechanism whether you refuse food to feel in control, binge for comfort, or purge to punish yourself. But you can learn healthier ways to cope with negative emotions.

Treatment Options For Anorexia And Bulimia

While there are a variety of different treatment options available for those struggling with eating disorders, it is important to find the treatment, or combination of treatments, that works best for you.

Therapy for eating disorders

Therapy is crucial to treating anorexia and bulimia. There are many ways a therapist can work with you, including addressing any feelings of shame and isolation caused by your eating disorder. Different therapists have different methods, so it is important to discuss with a therapist your goals in working towards recovery.

Eating Disorder Treatment: Help For Anorexia And Bulimia

The exact treatment needs of someone struggling with an eating disorder will vary according to the individual. It is, therefore, important that a health professional coordinate any treatment plan.

Eating disorder treatment step 1: Ask for help

 

It can be scary and embarrassing to seek help for an eating disorder but gaining support from a trusted friend, family member, religious leader, school counselor, or work colleague is for many people the first step on the road to recovery. Alternately, some people find it less threatening to confide in a treatment specialist, such as an eating disorder counselor or nutritionist.

Eating Disorder Recovery

The road to eating disorder recovery starts with admitting you have a problem. This admission can be tough, especially if you’re still clinging to the belief even in the back of your mind—that weight loss is the key to happiness, confidence, and success. Even when you finally understand this isn’t true, old habits are still hard to break.