How to Cope With Anorexia
Journal about your feelings., Talk to your doctor., Set goals that are attainable., Watch out for your triggers., Read about intuitive eating.Intuitive eating is a nutritional system designed by dietitian Evelyn Tribole and nutrition therapist Elyse...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Journal about your feelings.
Keeping a recovery journal where you write down your feelings will help you maintain awareness about your condition.
It will help you keep a record of how you felt throughout the day, especially when you were dealing with food issues.You can use the technique of "unpacking" to go deeper into your feelings.
For example, if you wrote that you felt "okay" one day, ask yourself what you could have meant by the word "okay." This will help you explore your feelings in more depth. -
Step 2: Talk to your doctor.
Anorexia can have serious health complications such as anemia, bone loss, gastrointestinal issues, heart problems, and even death.It's important to consult a medical professional if you think you may have anorexia, so you can get the treatment you need to recover.
Talk to your doctor about anorexia if you exhibit the following symptoms:
Significant weight loss as a result of not eating.
Fear of being fat, even when your body appears too thin to many people.
Excessive dieting and exercise.
Anxiety, mood swings, or hyperactivity.
Difficulty sleeping.
Suppressed sexual desire.
In women, irregular or nonexistent menstruation.
In men, preoccupation with weightlifting. , Setting unrealistic goals will cause problems, because you will have difficulty achieving them and you will want to give up early.
Instead, aim smaller at first, and then ramp after you've met the early goalposts.
If your goals are realistic, you will be able to balance them with other things in your life.
This can be a good way to measure whether they are attainable or not.
If your goal requires so much effort and time that you don't have time left for fun or other responsibilities, you may want to re-examine.For example, if you're only eating one meal a day, try adding a small snack.
You don't need to go for a full three meals per day right off the bat.
For another example, if you check your weight over 10 times per day, try to get that number down to
8.
Aiming for no checking may be unreasonable, but you can probably lower the number a little bit if you make an effort.
Note that if your life is in immediate danger due to anorexia, you may be hospitalized to get your weight up quickly to prevent life-threatening complications.
In general, though, you can work up to a healthy weight through small, achievable goals., A trigger is anything that upsets and leads you to eating disorder behaviors.If you can identify your triggers, you can gain control over situations and people that lead you to the anorexic behaviors.
Once you know who and what stresses you out in this way, you can create a plan to deal with them ahead of time.
Some triggers to look out for:
Stressful family interactions.
Stressful job situations.
Images or events that trigger your body image issues.
Specific foods that you have difficulty thinking about. , It can help you learn to listen to your body's signals, such as when you are hungry or full.
It can also help you develop alternative coping mechanisms for comforting yourself that don't involve food.
Some more things intuitive eating can do:
Help you begin to appreciate eating as a pleasurable activity.
Respect your body, or your "genetic blueprint." Reject the diet mentality. , If you have difficulty accepting your body, look at all the colorful varieties of body types in the world to see just how special and unique each one of them is.
You can see this diversity by going to an art museum and looking at classical paintings, where people valued different physiques than they do today.
You can also read news about body diversity by clicking here. , Whenever you feel stressed and want to turn to anorexic behaviors to cope, use a mantra or positive statement to redirect your feelings.
Be your own coach.For example, you can say "I can feel bad and still choose to take a new and healthy direction." You can also say "This is difficult and uncomfortable, but it is only temporary." -
Step 3: Set goals that are attainable.
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Step 4: Watch out for your triggers.
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Step 5: Read about intuitive eating.Intuitive eating is a nutritional system designed by dietitian Evelyn Tribole and nutrition therapist Elyse Resch.
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Step 6: Embrace body diversity.There's a huge number of diverse and beautiful body types in the world.
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Step 7: Use positive affirmations if you feel the anorexia creeping up.
Detailed Guide
Keeping a recovery journal where you write down your feelings will help you maintain awareness about your condition.
It will help you keep a record of how you felt throughout the day, especially when you were dealing with food issues.You can use the technique of "unpacking" to go deeper into your feelings.
For example, if you wrote that you felt "okay" one day, ask yourself what you could have meant by the word "okay." This will help you explore your feelings in more depth.
Anorexia can have serious health complications such as anemia, bone loss, gastrointestinal issues, heart problems, and even death.It's important to consult a medical professional if you think you may have anorexia, so you can get the treatment you need to recover.
Talk to your doctor about anorexia if you exhibit the following symptoms:
Significant weight loss as a result of not eating.
Fear of being fat, even when your body appears too thin to many people.
Excessive dieting and exercise.
Anxiety, mood swings, or hyperactivity.
Difficulty sleeping.
Suppressed sexual desire.
In women, irregular or nonexistent menstruation.
In men, preoccupation with weightlifting. , Setting unrealistic goals will cause problems, because you will have difficulty achieving them and you will want to give up early.
Instead, aim smaller at first, and then ramp after you've met the early goalposts.
If your goals are realistic, you will be able to balance them with other things in your life.
This can be a good way to measure whether they are attainable or not.
If your goal requires so much effort and time that you don't have time left for fun or other responsibilities, you may want to re-examine.For example, if you're only eating one meal a day, try adding a small snack.
You don't need to go for a full three meals per day right off the bat.
For another example, if you check your weight over 10 times per day, try to get that number down to
8.
Aiming for no checking may be unreasonable, but you can probably lower the number a little bit if you make an effort.
Note that if your life is in immediate danger due to anorexia, you may be hospitalized to get your weight up quickly to prevent life-threatening complications.
In general, though, you can work up to a healthy weight through small, achievable goals., A trigger is anything that upsets and leads you to eating disorder behaviors.If you can identify your triggers, you can gain control over situations and people that lead you to the anorexic behaviors.
Once you know who and what stresses you out in this way, you can create a plan to deal with them ahead of time.
Some triggers to look out for:
Stressful family interactions.
Stressful job situations.
Images or events that trigger your body image issues.
Specific foods that you have difficulty thinking about. , It can help you learn to listen to your body's signals, such as when you are hungry or full.
It can also help you develop alternative coping mechanisms for comforting yourself that don't involve food.
Some more things intuitive eating can do:
Help you begin to appreciate eating as a pleasurable activity.
Respect your body, or your "genetic blueprint." Reject the diet mentality. , If you have difficulty accepting your body, look at all the colorful varieties of body types in the world to see just how special and unique each one of them is.
You can see this diversity by going to an art museum and looking at classical paintings, where people valued different physiques than they do today.
You can also read news about body diversity by clicking here. , Whenever you feel stressed and want to turn to anorexic behaviors to cope, use a mantra or positive statement to redirect your feelings.
Be your own coach.For example, you can say "I can feel bad and still choose to take a new and healthy direction." You can also say "This is difficult and uncomfortable, but it is only temporary."
About the Author
Sandra Bailey
Enthusiastic about teaching practical skills techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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