How to recover?

Hi Lucy,

I am so pleased to hear you have decided to make a change. I suffered from anorexia for 11 years and I now have osteoporosis as a result and I am only 30. 

I do not recommend getting better in an inpatient setting - they focus on feeding and weight gain rather than addressing the underlying issues that are causing the behaviour. 

Try and put a finger on where it all started and what made you begin to use it as a coping mechanism. Usually addressing painful emotions that cause you to do it will help resolve the problem and lead you to learn better/healthier coping mechanisms. 

Sometimes an ED becomes an addiction as well so approaching it from this angle can also be helpful. I recommend reading Russell Brand's latest book Recovery if you feel it has become an addiction. Being open and honest with everyone around you and actually coming out about the problem can also help you deal with it and over come it. 

Some support groups are good but be careful as in the world of ED there is a competitive element to it so you might not find it helpful. I personally did not go to day care or inpatient treatment for this very reason. I felt that this would make me worse. 

The hospitals give underweight people very unhealthy processed foods to gain weight and again I feel this is a bad approach as it doesn't make a person feel good about putting on weight. I put on weight by eating things like avocado, nut and seed butters, organic dark chocolate, oily fish, organic red meat, organic cheese, sweet potatoes etc. 

I hope this helps and if you want to ask me anymore then please do. Rustle Of A Wing is also a great book that really helped motivate me to get better and stay out of hospital. Oh and coconut water is great from potassium levels as are potato skins. 

Xx

Hey Lucy - great to see the positivity. Speaking out is one of the first steps to getting healthy.

Sorry to hear about your husband's challenges. Could I recommend him attending one of Beat's online support groups. There are a number of different support groups, some aimed at sufferers and others at carers (one specifically for Dads actually) so he might find he is able to share some similar feelings with others going through his side of the bargain. I would also recommend that you either give the Beat helpline a call or join one of their online support groups for bulimia. These are completely free and confidential and all moderated by trained advisors.

You mentioned that you were making your loved ones miserable. Try and remember that your eating disorder isn't your fault. Every long term illness can be painful for loved ones and you have no control over the fact that you developed an eating disorder.

I have recovered from anorexia but when I was ill I also struggled with binge eating at times and bulimic tendencies. My dietitian highlighted that small regular meals with carbs distributed throughout will help prevent binge episodes, so when it comes to meal planning I'd suggest this. The restrict-binge model is one that is based on our fight or flight instinct e.g. our ancestors our starved and then they see an animal in the woods, and hunt it down. We don't have to attack a whole animal today, because high energy foods are seconds away from us. I'd ignore the absolute rubbish about cutting carbs or fats because these are things which prevent bingeing meaning you can still enjoy chocolate, crisps etc. 

I would really encourage you to work with a dietitian but also see if you can information on portions as this will help you feel more in control. I don't know what feelings are causing you to have bulimia but as you tackle the food side of things they will become stronger, so you will want to have therapy alongside any dietary changes to tackle those difficult feelings.

Hope this helps. Remember things don't change overnight so be patient with yourself.