Recovering from an eating disorder, can take years before one is able to live a happy and healthy life without occasionally slipping into old ways of thinking. Relapses or slip on can be a part of the recovery process, what is important is – to gain control, and get back on the wagon and drive-thru.
The key to preventing a relapse lies in identifying the warning signs and take prevent measures.
Your thoughts keep turning to food,dieting and weight.
You feel hopeless and wonder what you’re going to do with your life.
With diet and exercise, your primary goal is to look good rather than to be healthy.
You believe that you’ll never be happy unless you’re thin supported by increasing need to exercise continually, or feeling guilt after eating. Astudy has inferred that those who eat and feel guilty afterwards end up adding weight. Next time you treat yourself to a sizeable slab of chocolate cake, make sure you enjoy every crumb. Psychologists have discovered those of us who see it as something to celebrate are much more likely to stay slim.
You see yourself as overweight or obese.
Holding a Perfectionist attitude. You look in the mirror frequently and weigh yourself often.
You skip meals or find ways to purify yourself after eating..
You get irritable around the issue of food.
You feel an overwhelming sense of guilt or shame after eating.
You avoid events that involve food.
Recovery takes a long, long time to reach and it involves dealing with a lot of painful issues that can leave you susceptible to relapsing into old “comforts” like starving or purging..
In the event that you feel that you may be in a situation where you have fallen back to eating disorder behaviour, there are some things to remember:
- Seek professional help immediately.
- Relapse does not mean failure.
- You have been through this before and you can get through it again.
- Be kind to yourself and give yourself time to recover.
- Refer often to your values and strive to live by them.
- Work on self-approval, which is not dependent on weight.
- Accept your personal limitations.
- Create an environment of respect, optimism, trust and honesty with yourself and others.
- Know that “failure” neither dooms nor defines you. You are just a person who is willing to take on challenges.
- Practice, practice, practice!
Always remember, Healthy eating is much more important and is actually the key to maintaining and keeping a healthy weight.
