Recovery from an eating disorder doesn’t happen all at once. Individuals at all stages of recovery may encounter urges and triggers surrounding food, diet talk, and negative thoughts. In the moment, it can feel like these urges are unavoidable or overwhelming, but learning to regulate these impulses is an important part of developing a healthy relationship with food and one’s body. There are many lifestyle changes and tips that can help diffuse a triggering experience.
by: Sadie Grant
Oftentimes, when we hear the term “eating disorder”, we think of an entirely behavioral illness: An eating disorder must just be a disordered pattern of eating that can be fixed by changing behavior, right?
When we think this way, it’s easy to assume that people with eating disorders can resist disordered behaviors around food by simply eating normally.
The truth is that eating disorders are actually complex illnesses that involve severe behavioral, emotional, and cognitive disturbances. A person experiencing anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or other disordered eating patterns is likely grappling with persistent, intrusive food or body related thoughts, feelings of guilt or inadequacy, and powerful behavioral impulses. For example, after a person with bulimia experiences a triggering event (such as eating a large meal or receiving bad news from a friend), they may experience helplessness, distorted body image, and obsessive thoughts of bingeing and/or purging. One of the best ways to overcome these difficult moments is through distraction.
Today, I am going to share 5 tips to distract from eating disorder urges. Whether you are experiencing an impulse to skip a meal, binge, purge, over-exercise, scrutinize your body, or engage in other disordered eating behaviors, healthy distraction can allow you to focus your attention elsewhere until the urge passes.
5 Tips to Distract from Eating Disorder Urges:
1. Reach out to someone.
Call a friend and ask them how they are doing. Reach out to a family member and tell them one thing you accomplished this week. If you want to discuss what is going on, call a therapist, recovery coach, or trusted friend and talk them through what is happening. Reaching out to others helps us to feel less alone and promotes a sense of belonging and joy.
2. Leave the environment that is tempting you to engage in eating disorder behavior.
Maybe you are in a stressful environment, such as a place in which you have experienced upsetting events or where you have engaged in disordered eating behaviors in the past. Take a walk. Get absorbed in your surroundings elsewhere. Or maybe you are spending time with a group of friends who partake in diet culture or disordered eating patterns. Look for new friends who can support you in recovery.
3. Pamper yourself.
Take a long bath with candles and essential oils. Paint your nails. Get a massage. Put on your favorite scented lotion. The body can feel less like an enemy when you care for and nurture it.
4. Write a letter to yourself.
Focus on the positive. Even if you decide to write about the urge you are experiencing, don’t forget to remind yourself about your positive attributes. Are you smart? Caring? Funny? Can you speak a second language? If this feels challenging, you can also focus on the negative attributes that you DON’T have. By writing yourself a letter in which you focus on your positive qualities, it can be easier to remember that you are so much more than both your physical appearance and your eating disorder. Letters also remind us that there is a future. Envision a version of yourself that is further along in recovery reading this letter. Imagining ourselves living balanced, fulfilling lives in the future helps us to remember that this, too, shall pass.
5. Play with an animal.
If you have a pet like a cat or a dog, pet them, cry to them, or laugh with them. If you don’t have a pet, consider visiting a farm or a rescue shelter. Spending time with animals allows us to be vulnerable and can help us to ground ourselves in the present moment. Connecting with an animal can also remind us that we are not so different from other living beings, and that we, too, are innocent and deserve to be loved.
At BALANCE eating disorder treatment center, our compassionate, highly skilled team of clinicians is trained in diagnosing and treating the spectrum of eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, compulsive overeating, and other disordered eating behaviors and body image issues.
Our admissions team would be happy to answer any questions you may have about our programs and services. Book a free consultation call with our admissions team below or read more about our philosophy here.
This post was written by BALANCE Blog Intern, Sadie Grant.
Sadie is a recent graduate of Oberlin College with a B.A. in psychology. After recovering from disordered eating, Sadie became passionate about eating disorder awareness, body neutrality, and destabilizing beauty standards that are established by social and cultural norms. While earning her Bachelor’s degree, Sadie conducted quantitative research, worked with populations experiencing barriers to essential services, and studied Spanish. Sadie hopes to use her developing research and interpersonal skills to work in the field of eating disorders and address the way in which expectations around eating and beauty vary across different populations.
References
Cowden, S. (2020, July 16). 6 Steps to Stopping a Cycle of Binging and Purging. Retrieved September 01, 2020, from https://www.verywellmind.com/stopping-the-binge-purge-cycle-1138286
Parekh, R. (2017). What Are Eating Disorders? Retrieved September 01, 2020, from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/eating-disorders/what-are-eating-disorders
Smith, M. (2019). Eating Disorder Treatment and Recovery. Retrieved September 01, 2020, from https://www.helpguide.org/articles/eating-disorders/eating-disorder-treatment-and-recovery.htm
