Tools of Recovery
“To stay in recovery, you must be responsible for finding your own motivation. Remember, motivation may not be easy to come by at first. It will probably be a very small, timid part inside of you. When you find it, let that part be in charge. Let the minority rule and lead you to a life you never dreamed was possible” - Jenni Schaefer
Over the last three weeks, I have shared information on identifying and finding resources for healing from an eating disorder. Today, let’s take a look at what tools for recovery are available to you. Every recovery journey is unique and each person will have their own story and use their own “toolbox”. Embrace your story and your journey!
#1: The recovery journey begins with you. I would argue that you, the individual struggling with disordered eating and its effect on your life, are the most valuable and useful tool. Here are three reasons you are a tool for recovery.
· First, nobody knows your journey and lived experience as much as you do. You know your history with food, your circumstances, your beliefs and fears, your hardships and victories, your motivators. This is your lived experience that enables you to work with other tools available to identify barriers and beliefs and work toward change. You are the most important part of the team and your insight, knowledge, and understanding matter.
· Second, you have the control and the power. Often in eating disorder recovery, we use behaviors to have a sense of control. However, these behaviors leave us feeling weak, stuck, and with little to no control in our lives. The work is to use your resilience and strength along with other support and tools to take back your life and your control. Sometimes, this may mean a surrender to the recovery process – you have the control to surrender to the process.
· Finally, this is your journey and your journey alone. There are others here to support you, encourage you, educate you, hold you accountable, believe in you, but no one can make you recover or do the work for you.
#2: Your support system. Building your support system can also help you in your journey. Take a look at those around you. This may be friends, family, groups, faith-based communities, people who are like-minded and present in your life and trustworthy. Engaging this support may look like spending time with them or talking to them. It may mean having them support you in meals or remind you of your value. It may or may not mean sharing your journey, but each may have a role in supporting you - directly or indirectly.
You may ask, “What if I don’t have a support system or my system is broken?” Often people find themselves feeling alone on this journey. Please know you are NOT ALONE and do not need to be alone. If you are having difficulty finding a support system that helps you in your journey, use the tools below to begin your process of building support.
#3: Your Treatment Team and Levels of Care. Building a team of knowledgeable and trustworthy “experts” gives consistency, support, and help in your journey. What does a treatment team look like:
· Therapist: A therapist provides a non-judgmental, therapeutic relationship to explore the psychological, emotional, relational, and behavioral drivers of the eating disorder. Eating disorders are rarely “just about food” and by incorporating therapy techniques and skills, a therapist will work with you to process and heal. Therapy techniques often used include:
o Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
o Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
o Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
o Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
o Family Based Treatment (FBT)
o Others
· Dietitian: A dietitian’s primary role is nutrition rehabilitation, support, and education. Dietitians specializing in eating disorders will provide guidance for eating and nutrition counseling to help move through barriers, beliefs, and fears around food. This process can be individualized to each person’s needs and preferences.
· Psychiatrist: Often, medication management can be helpful in moving through some of the difficulties in eating disorder recovery. Eating disorders are often a part of other mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, trauma, and substance use. A psychiatrist can help manage medications to provide support in all mental health conditions including eating disorder recovery.
· Medical physician: Eating disorders leave individuals susceptible to physical and, at times, life threatening conditions. Having a trusted physician provides medical expertise and exams to ensure safety and health through the recovery process.
This team of experts and support can be found at all levels of eating disorder care. Determining what level of care is right for each person can be done through an outpatient provider or a call to a treatment center. The levels of care for eating disorder recovery are as follows:
· Inpatient: Highest level of care used for medical and feeding stabilization.
· Residential: Twenty-four hour care for individuals needing support to decrease and abstain from behaviors. This level of care provides structure, support, therapy and accountability for healing
· Partial Housing Program (PHP): These programs provide day structure while individuals go home in the evening and often weekends. This is helpful for individuals who can manage behaviors at home but continue to need consistent structure and support with increased therapy and group therapy sessions.
· Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP): Where PHP programs run 5-7 days a week for 6-8 hours a day, IOP programs run 3-5 days a week for 3-5 hours a day. This level of care continues to provide structure, therapy, and support while individuals aim to use skills and avoid behaviors at home.
· Outpatient: Outpatient levels of care provide consistent support 1-2 times a week with each provider to provide accountability, support, education, therapy, and monitoring.
Each individual will be unique in their journey through levels of care. At times, levels of care may be repeated or skipped depending on each person’s need.
#4: Spiritual and Faith-Based Tools. Eating disorder treatment works best when all aspects of our well-being are recognized and incorporated into treatment. Spirituality in the broad sense refers to how each person understands meaning, purpose, connection, and transcendence. A powerful tool can often be one’s spirituality and faith. A following blog will discuss aspects of Christian faith that can be a helpful tool in recovery for those who embrace Christian faith.
#5: Other Tools. Each recovery story will have their own use of the tools above as well as many other aspects that assist in finding healing. Use the tools that work for you and are available for you. If you try something and it did not go as planned, don’t be afraid to try again. Recovery can happen quickly, but it can also take time. Often the behaviors, thoughts, and beliefs that you are working to change have been a part of life for years and it will take time to heal. No matter how many times you have tried or how long you have struggled with an eating disorder, be encouraged. Healing is Possible!
If you would like to begin this journey and need some help getting started, reach out! Call, email, or complete the contact form and allow me the privilege of supporting you on your journey.
