A New Year Resolution Cautionary – Part 2!
If you have read my last blog post (and if not, you can find it here), you will now understand why making a well-intentioned diet-related resolution may not actually support your real “want”-which is to heal and recover from your binge eating, restriction, purging, over-exercising, etc.
It’s important that you seek professional help and see this as an investment in your mental and physical health and wellbeing; not just for a few days or weeks, but for good.
If you ARE making a NY resolution, whether you are currently looking for professional help or not just now, how about some of these? Some self-help measures that might be useful. As with anything though, the key is consistency, not perfection, so even if you don’t feel like doing them, just try to do them, as there are benefits from just showing up for yourself and doing some small things regularly!
- How about setting a goal for yourself that is NOT about food in any way? What might energise you? What might reduce stress? Have you always wanted to have a go at something? Is it something that you could try WITHOUT there being a sense of pressure to succeed or be perfect? Think hard about this bit. Perfectionism is common in individuals with eating disorders and the idea here is to have something to interest or challenge you, or relax you in some way- BUT without the all-or-nothing thinking. For example, just going out into the fresh air and being in nature is less structured and goal-oriented than “I will walk a minimum of 10000 steps a day, before 2pm) as that could feed that perfectionist thinking!
- Replace guilt, shame and perfectionism with progress- compassion. Instead of berating yourself for not being perfect or eating something on your currently “banned” list, try just taking a mental “step back”. Look at what you are struggling with from the perspective of observation, curiosity and interest. What happened there? What might have been the trigger? Write it down. Writing can really help the brain and body connect.
- Journalling. I know, please don’t roll your eyes. EVERYONE talks about journalling – but it is a very helpful way of noting the things that have become habitual for you, or trigger a reaction, for example. We are VERY good at conveniently forgetting the things we don’t want to face. You don’t need to spend hours writing every thought down (unless that is helpful for you)- instead, when you find yourself in a situation that is uncomfortable ( e.g. you have binged, or purged, or have an urge to do so)- get out your “journal” as soon as possible in that moment (this is important- not at the end of the day, as you are likely to forget or your memory will have somewhat distorted things )
- Consider getting help if you haven’t already. There are lots of services out there and it’s important for you to do your homework a bit before embarking on a counselling or therapeutic service, and that includes taking the opportunity, where available, to have an initial consultation with your potential therapist. The most important thing, other than whether they have the qualifications and skills to help you, is the relationship you will both need to build. That’s why in my view it’s good to have that initial contact. Does it feel right for you and your therapist?
I offer a FREE initial consultation, as do many of my professional colleagues. If you would like to know more about how we work at Recovery Works, drop me a message at su@recoveryworks.co.uk or DM me via my FB or Instagram pages.
Wishing you health in recovery in 2025!
With Warm Regards
Su
