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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Stimulus mind" data-source="post: 26673812" data-attributes="member: 577135"><h2>Getting help</h2><img src="https://www.waldeneatingdisorders.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/girl-on-couch.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 814px" />Deciding to get help for anorexia is not an easy choice to make. It’s not uncommon to feel like anorexia is part of your identity—or even your “friend.” You may think that anorexia has such a powerful hold over you that you’ll never be able to overcome it. But while change is hard, it is possible.Admit you have a problem. Up until now, you’ve been invested in the idea that life will improve—that you’ll finally feel good—if you lose more weight. The first step in anorexia recovery is admitting that your relentless pursuit of thinness is out of your control and acknowledging the physical and emotional damage that you’ve suffered because of it.Talk to someone. It can be hard to talk about what you’re going through, especially if you’ve kept your anorexia a secret for a long time. You may be ashamed, ambivalent, or afraid. But it’s important to understand that you’re not alone. Find a good listener—someone who will support you as you try to heal.Stay away from people, places, and activities that trigger your obsession with being thin. You may need to avoid looking at fashion or fitness magazines, spend less time with friends who constantly diet and talk about losing weight, and stay away from weight loss websites and “pro-ana” sites that promote anorexia.Seek professional help. The advice and support of trained eating disorder professionals can help you regain your health, learn to eat normally again, and develop healthier attitudes about food and your body.<h4>Medical treatment for anorexia</h4>The first priority in anorexia treatment is addressing and stabilizing any serious health issues. Hospitalization may be necessary if you are dangerously malnourished or so distressed that you no longer want to live. You may also need to be hospitalized until you reach a less critical weight.<h2></h2><h2>Anorexia recovery tip 1: Understand this is not really about weight or food</h2><img src="https://i0.wp.com/cdn-prod.medicalnewstoday.com/content/images/articles/322/322157/signs-you-re-not-eating-enough.jpg?w=1155&h=1566" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 866px" />The food and weight-related issues are in fact symptoms of a deeper issue: depression, anxiety, loneliness, insecurity, pressure to be perfect, or feeling out of control. Problems that no amount of dieting or weight loss can cure.�<table style='width: 100%'><tr><td>The difference between dieting and anorexia</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Healthy Dieting</td><td>Anorexia</td></tr><tr><td>Healthy dieting is an attempt to control weight.</td><td>Anorexia is an attempt to control your life and emotions.</td></tr><tr><td>Your self-esteem is based on more than just weight and body image.</td><td>Your self-esteem is based entirely on how much you weigh and how thin you are.</td></tr><tr><td>You view weight loss as a way to improve your health and appearance.</td><td>You view weight loss as a way to achieve happiness.</td></tr><tr><td>Your goal is to lose weight in a healthy way.</td><td>Becoming thin is all that matters; health is not a concern.</td></tr></table>In order to overcome anorexia, you first need to understand that it meets a need in your life. For example, maybe you feel powerless in many parts of your life, but you can control what you eat. Saying “no” to food, getting the best of hunger, and controlling the number on the scale may make you feel strong and successful—at least for a short while. You may even come to enjoy your hunger pangs as reminders of a “special talent” that most people don’t possess.Anorexia may also be a way of distracting yourself from difficult emotions. When you spend most of your time thinking about food, dieting, and weight loss, you don’t have to face other problems in your life or deal with complicated emotions. Restricting food may provide an emotional numbness, anaesthetizing you from feelings of anxiety, sadness, or anger, perhaps even replacing those emotions with a sense of calm or safety.Unfortunately, any boost you get from starving yourself or shedding pounds is extremely short-lived—and at some point, it will stop working for you at all. Dieting and weight loss can’t repair the negative self-image at the heart of anorexia. The only way to do that is to identify the emotional need that self-starvation fulfils and find other ways to meet it.<h4>“I feel fat”</h4>While your weight usually remains quite constant over the course of, say, a week, feelings of fatness can fluctuate wildly. Often, feeling fat is a mislabeling of other emotions, such as shame, boredom, frustration, or sadness. In other words, “I feel fat” really means “I feel anxious,” or “I feel lonely.” And those feelings are unlikely to ever be changed by a diet.<h2></h2><h2>Tip 2: Learn to tolerate your feelings</h2><img src="https://media.self.com/photos/5ec6858e2f8816a44af9f56d/16:9/w_1727,h_971,c_limit/GettyImages-1174870662.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 869px" />Identifying the underlying issues that drive your eating disorder is the first step toward recovery, but insight alone is not enough. Let’s say, for example, that following restrictive food rules makes you feel safe and powerful. When you take that coping mechanism away, you will be confronted with the feelings of fear and helplessness your anorexia helped you avoid.Reconnecting with your feelings can be extremely uncomfortable. It’s why you may feel worse at the beginning of your recovery. But the answer isn’t to return to the destructive eating habits you previously used to distract yourself; it’s to learn how to accept and tolerate all of your feelings—even the negative ones.<h3>Using mindfulness to cope with difficult emotions</h3>When you start to feel overwhelmed by negativity, discomfort, or the urge to restrict food, take a moment to stop whatever you’re doing and investigate what’s going on inside.Identify the emotion you’re feeling. Is it guilt? Shame? Helplessness? Loneliness? Anxiety? Disappointment? Fear? Insecurity?Accept the experience you’re having. Avoidance and resistance only make negative emotions stronger. Instead, try to accept what you’re feeling without judging yourself.Dig deeper. Where do you feel the emotion in your body? What kinds of thoughts are going through your head?Distance yourself. Realize that you are NOT your feelings. Emotions are passing events, like clouds moving across the sky. They don’t define who you are.Once you learn how to accept and tolerate your feelings, they’ll no longer seem so scary. You’ll realize that you’re still in control and that negative emotions are only temporary. Once you stop fighting them, they’ll quickly pass.<h3>New ways to find emotional fulfilment</h3>Once you understand the link between your emotions and your disordered eating patterns—and can identify your triggers—you still need to find alternatives to dieting that you can turn to for emotional fulfilment. For example:If you’re depressed or lonely, call someone who always makes you feel better, schedule time with family or friends, watch a comedy show, or play with a dog or cat.If you’re anxious, expend your nervous energy by dancing to your favourite music, squeezing a stress ball, or taking a brisk walk or bike ride.If you’re exhausted, treat yourself with a hot cup of tea, go for a walk, take a bath, or light some scented candles.If you’re bored, read a good book, explore the outdoors, visit a museum, or turn to a hobby you enjoy (playing the guitar, knitting, shooting hoops, scrapbooking, etc.).</blockquote>

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