How to Deal with Slips in Eating Disorder Recovery

Something I always stress to people is that eating disorder recovery is not always a linear process and slips in eating disorder recovery happen. This is unfortunate, but something we need to be aware of. Throughout my recovery journey, I fell back into old disordered eating behaviors countless times before long-term abstinence from binging was able to occur. Here's how to deal with slips in eating disorder recovery.

Slips During Eating Disorder Recovery Happen to Everyone

We may feel weak and want to give up when our attempts to combat our binging behavior is unsuccessful. Do not get discouraged. Eating disorder relapses are generally a part of recovery. Just because old habits surface does not mean eating disorder recovery is impossible. Coming back from a slip in eating disorder recovery can show us just how strong we are.

In each eating disorder recovery slip lies a lesson which can further your recovery process. We can learn from the things that cause triggers, allowing us to combat them the next time. Doing this aids in the gaining of resilience, leaving us better prepared for future challenges.

How to Refocus After a Slip in Eating Disorder Recovery

Refocusing yourself on recovery is essential after an eating disorder recovery slip. Here are a few steps to help return to a positive recovery mindset:

1. Define your emotions. Dig deep into each moment leading up to your binge. What happened? What were you feeling (or trying not to feel)? Where were you? Who were you with? Analyzing these things can give you insight into what triggered your behavior (Binge Eating Disorder Triggers: What You Should Know). Once the trigger is found, you can take steps to ensure the same situation does not end in eating disordered behavior.
2. Be open about your slip. Often, I was reluctant to talk about my slips. I thought it would disappoint others and I was worried what they would think about me. I always wanted to appear like I was doing better than I really was. When we hide these things, our eating disorder starts to gain control again. The more we can speak about what happened without feeling ashamed, the easier it is to move through this challenging time.
3. Do not be hard on yourself. Setbacks are part of life. When you were learning to ride a bike, did you fall off the first few times? My guess is yes. Eating disorder recovery is the same way. You could not expect to hop on a bike the first time and have an easy ride, so how can you expect to get this recovery thing "perfect" the first time?

Be gentle with yourself. Like I stated before, a lot of learning and experience can be gained from slips in eating disorder recovery. Judging yourself will only keep you down longer and you will feel like recovery just isn't for you. This couldn't be further from the truth. Recovery is something everyone can grasp. It does not matter how long it takes you to get there. Things will stick. You will know that each obstacle you went through was instrumental in getting you to a stable place.

Keep pushing and find insight from the hard times. This will only leave you stronger.

Wishing you well, folks.

Find Grace on Twitter, Facebook, and on her personal blog.