Your Weight Will Fluctuate But Your Value Will Not
Medical / Professional Help
When people getting treatment for anorexia they will most likely have a health-care team, dietician, or many may need to be supervised by a specialist during thei recovery process. Here are some key points that you will see during treatment...
- Getting enough nutrition for your body to return back to healthy is the main point of recovery as well as changing your mindset and habits to feel better during this whole process. Usually a dietician experienced with eating disorders will give you a meal plan specialized towards you.
-Your health-care team is there to keep you on track as well as to provide support in any way you would need it. They can stay with you during your meals if you are in the hospital or they will collaborate with your friends and family so they can give you support during recovery as well. After they give you some time to adjust you have to record and talk about each meal you eat with them as well.
- In severe cases where a patient refuses or is unable to eat food there are two options in substitute for eating. You will be given substitues like drinks, smoothies, or something liquid that has enough nutrients for your body. If your body rejects every solution you may need nasogastric feeding (where a feeding tube is passed through the nose and into the stomach).
Some people suffer from what is known as "refeeding syndrome" which usually happens to people with long-standing eating disorders. Refeeding syndrome comes with fatigue, muscle weakness, seizures, tremors, etc. This usually lasts 4 to 10 days or up to 4 weeks.
At Home Tips
Some people don't have access to medical help, don't like the presence of doctors, professionals, etc and these are some tips to help yourself while being at home. But don't forget you can always lean on your friends and family for support during your recovery.
- Recognize Your Feelings: With bad days or negative feelings you may turn to unhealthy habits or coping mechanisms. Reassure yourself that you are strong enough to tolerate these feelings and being able to go on with your day without turning towards those habits. This is a long process, but makes sure that even on bad days you will not relapse or feel worse after these feelings leave.
- Little Tips: These little tips to start your recovery slowly can help make things much easier. Start by changing up your clothes if you don't like how big or tight they are on you, taking down mirrors until you're comfortable with yourself or want to push yourself, writing or drawing how you feel, finding hobbies that don't involve weight or food, spend time away from social platforms, spend time with friends who make you happy or promote healthy habits, or spend time focusing on your spiritual and mental self by doing meditation, yoga, reading, or listening to podcasts, music, etc.
Seperate Yourself: Imagine your physical body seperate from yourself. We tend to treat other people kinder than we treat ourselves and by doing this you can begin to be kind to your body, feel sympathy and compassion. If it also helps you can refer to your body as something different like a different name or a positive adjective.
Imagine: Sometimes we have unresolved trauma and experiences that effect us or we wish we could go back in time to our young selves. Lay in bed and hug a pillow or stuffed plush to you, now imagine that object is your younger self. Apologize for whatever you feel bad about, any mistake, any unresolved conflict or just to apologize for treating your bad in the present. This helps let go of some of those negative feelings that you have been holding inside you for years.
MOST IMPORTANTLY
Know that relapsing is a part of the journey and starting recovery is the biggest step you can take especially after you relapse, but your hard work wasn't for nothing. Accept that you relapsed but also recognize your success, think about what did and didn't work. It even helps you figure out and understand your eating disorder more. You're on your way to becoming better and you're learning every step of the way. Be kind to yourself
