Our latest Guest Blogger shares her thoughts on keeping motivated in recovery.
They say patience is a virtue and you certainly need it in spades during eating disorder recovery.
I recently attended a workshop where the facilitator announced that the average recovery time for an individual with an eating disorder is seven years, making them one of the longest lasting mental health conditions.
It’s common for us to suffer both physical and mental hardship, with the challenging symptoms and effects needing a great deal of time and commitment to improve.
“It can be a cyclical process that demands endurance, resilience and bucketsful of love and support from those around us.”
When someone experiences a very restrictive disorder, there’s a chance they will need to spend time weight restoring before they are healthy enough to engage in a structured recovery programme. Lapses and relapses can also sometimes occur, meaning the sufferer goes through a setback and must spend time rebuilding to get back to where they were before.
It can be a cyclical process that demands endurance, resilience and bucketsful of love and support from those around us.
Of course, each set of circumstances is unique and not everybody will spend that amount of time in treatment, but how can we keep positive through the ups and downs? How can we stay on the right track if our brains are screaming at us to revert? What are the most effective ways to remain motivated during recovery?
Remember the reasons you started
It can be really helpful to make a list of reasons to recover and use it as a reference point when you feel like pulling back.
You can include the negative impact your eating disorder has on your physical health, the space it commandeers in your head and everything that it prevents you from doing. It might also help you to write down what you would like to do once you have progressed on your recovery journey and the things you can enjoy more if you weren’t being restrained by your condition.
Surround yourself with positivity
It can be hard to stay motivated when there are negative people and influences around you. These can be friends and family members, colleagues and online channels.
Whilst it’s very difficult to distance yourself from people, you can choose which profiles to follow on social media and who you engage with digitally more easily and ensure your down-time is not spent being drained by unnecessary comparisons and feelings of inadequacy. If your networks aren’t uplifting and inspiring you, it might time to seek some healthier ones.
Incentivise yourself
It can really help to have an incentive or something to reward your progress with if you start to feel directionless. Whether it’s material like a new item of clothing or gadget, or an experience such as a holiday it can really boost your morale and keep you on the right track.
You may also benefit from planning to undertake a new qualification or make a lifestyle change like a different career path once your health improves. Whatever feels exciting and motivating, try and factor it into your recovery goals.
Keep talking
If you’re finding it all too much or dipping in motivation then it’s key that you confide in someone you trust.
Whether it’s a friend or family member, colleague or medical professional, they can support you to stay on track and remind you of the benefits of recovery. Talking can take the power away from the temptation to revert and this could in turn help to prevent a relapse.
Self-care
It’s a massive change that you’re undertaking, trying to improve difficult thoughts and behaviours that have become ingrained over the years, so it’s important to look after yourself.
Try to factor 20 minutes into each day to do something for yourself that you will enjoy. It could be a gentle walk outdoors, colouring or crafts, reading, listening to music or a podcast, or taking a warm bath. If it resets your mind and makes you feel calm then that’s going to really help you when it all gets too much.
Hopefully you can take something away from this blog and use it on your recovery journey.
