Food Isn't Bad: Overcoming Disordered Eating
More than 28 million Americans will struggle with disordered eating in their lifetimes. So if you are concerned about your relationship with food, then you are not alone. Eating disorders are a common coping mechanism when struggling with a lack of control or emotional trauma. However, they can have a huge impact on your entire relationship with food and eating as a social activity.
As you start to recover from an eating disorder, it can be hard to remember that food isn't bad. Let's take a look at some of the ways of renegotiating your relationship with food after an eating disorder.
Understanding Disordered Eating
It's difficult to easily answer the question, "What is an eating disorder?" While it is can be easy to identify the basic patterns of eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, this doesn't always get to the root of the problem. In fact, most types of eating disorders come as a response to a type of emotional trauma. When this happens, skipping meals, purging, or bingeing are all used to create a sense of control and order. While these reactions can feel comforting, it can mean that food becomes the villain in your life.
Re-Establishing Your Relationship with Food
One of the biggest challenges of recovering from an eating disorder is that food is everywhere. Unlike other addictive behaviors, you cannot simply avoid it or cut it out completely. This means that you have to face your challenges head on and this can be very overwhelming. When it comes to re-establishing your relationship with food, don't try to push yourself. Baby steps are essential if you are going to create a healthy long-term relationship. Overtime you will be able to rebuild this. It can help to try to understand what your relationship with food used to be like or to remember a time when you truly enjoyed eating. This can be painful but remembering that this was once possible can also help to build your belief in recovery.
Getting Support with Eating Disorders
One of the more difficult things about living with an eating disorder is the isolation that it creates between you and your loved ones. Bridging this emotional void can be very difficult, however, once you do you will suddenly have access to so many more emotional resources. Namely, you will have people around to look after you while you recover. Talking to people about how you feel about food can also be a powerful way to better understand your relationship with it. And as you get further along your road to recovery they will be able to support you as you start to rediscover a positive relationship with food.
Find Help Today
As you can see, disordered eating can have a huge impact on your relationship with food and the journey to recovery can be a long and difficult one. Getting support with your eating can help you understand your relationship with food better, which is very important for your emotional and psychological recovery. For more information and support on your road to recovery, get in touch today for a free online consultation.