It’s almost the new year, and while the start of a fresh calendar may bring excitement, it can also bring the pressure to do things totally differently. There is pressure from society, influencers, dieting companies, and wellness brands to commit to resolutions that may not be in alignment with your eating disorder recovery.
Contrary to popular belief, your resolutions do not need to be related to any of your physical attributes (if you choose to set resolutions at all).
Here are some different kinds of resolutions that are not only completely unrelated to food, diet, and exercise but that can further your recovery from an eating disorder.
Resolve To Unfollow Triggering Accounts
Make a plan to unfollow accounts on social media that may be triggering to you or counterproductive to your recovery. You can also follow accounts that inspire recovery and a healthy relationship with your body (@balancedtx is a great place to start!).
Resolve To Learn Something New
A great challenge to set for yourself in the new year is to learn something new. Try to make a plan to learn something new each month. Maybe you will even want to enlist friends or family members to learn new things with you!
Resolve to Try New Experiences
Have you always wanted to try rock climbing? What about axe throwing? Maybe you’ve been curious about pickleball and want to learn how to play. Pick a few new experiences that have always intrigued you and set up a plan to try them out in the new year.
Resolve to Build Community
Organize a community event (or a series of community events) for your town or your neighborhood. Consider a barbecue, a book club, a block party, or a neighborhood clothing or food drive. Building community is a great way to add joy and gratitude to your life!
Resolve to Strengthen Connections
Look ahead to the new year by planning new ways to connect with your loved ones. Maybe you plan games nights, picnics, outings, or celebrations that focus on connection with those in your life without distractions. This can also be a great focus to strengthen your connections in recovery.
At the end of the day, New Year’s resolutions are unnecessary, but they can be a great way to challenge yourself to shift your perspective and try new things. Instead of setting resolutions that ask you to change how you eat or how you look, try one of the resolutions above and stay recovery-focused as we head into the new year!
You may notice that eating disorder triggers and urges seem to come up more frequently, especially as we head into 2024. With BALANCE’s 12-Day Winter Break Eating Disorder Treatment Program, you could get started on reducing your eating disorder thoughts and begin feeling in alignment with your authentic self in the new year. Don’t wait, spots are filling and doors are about to close for good on this program. Learn more about our limited-time Winter Break 12-Day Intensive here.
Our admissions team would happily answer any questions about our programs and services. Book a free discovery call with our admissions team below, or read more about our philosophy here.
This post was written by BALANCE Blog Contributor, Korie Born (she/her).
Korie Born is an educator turned Intuitive Eating Counselor with passion for eating disorder treatment and recovery. She earned an undergraduate degree in French at Sonoma State University, then after several years teaching middle school French and English, pursued a Master’s Degree in Education specializing in the overlap between eating disorders and education. Korie has worked to ensure that students and her Intuitive Eating Counseling clients feel supported in making diet culture and disordered eating a thing of the past.
As an educator, she honed her content creation skills to share about Intuitive Eating with students in different settings, and through curriculum development for multiple anti-diet and self-esteem boosting curricula for nonprofits in the field.
