How to Stay in Control When Recovering from Eating Disorders

If you have struggled with an eating disorder like anorexia, you most-likely know how to plan. By extracting a very basic human need, the brain must use a maximum amount of energy to deny instinct. Calorie counting, eating only at certain times of the day, obsessing over exercise routines, and meticulously shopping for the “right” kinds of food, are all examples of how an eating disorder can shape time. Most people who struggle with eating disorders are ambivalent about recovery.  They may want to have a life that doesn’t follow such rigidity, but worry about losing control.  There are many reasons why someone might develop an eating disorder, but there is one common thread that runs throughout the disorder: it is the gasoline that runs a person’s life. The idea of recovery can be daunting.  How does a person deconstruct a lifestyle that may have existed for years?  Most nutritionists advise against extreme change in diet.  The body may not be able to process food like it used to and switching from starvation mode to three healthy meals a day, may not be possible in the beginning. Aside from weight, there are changes a person can make that don’t involve focusing on calories.  It takes time to trust.  Whether you are building a relationship with a friend or a significant other, or whether you are relying on your instincts to tell you what you need, trust can feel like losing control.  While learning to trust your body to tell you what it needs, here a...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Anorexia Binge Eating Bulimia Eating Disorders Impulse Control Self Control Source Type: blogs