This week’s video is a follow up from a video that I did awhile ago; what is recovery?

I have heard from many of you that recovery feels very different than you thought it would. Your ED screams louder and you have some really bad days and then you have some really great days. I know that it is not exactly what you want to hear, but all of those feelings are normal. Recovery is a process, it is not perfection. I know I say that all the time, but it is true. A lot of people assume that once you have started the recovery process, you will never go back to it. Or that you are able to somehow just quit cold turkey. That is not how it works!! At all! I have to explain this to parents and/or boyfriends all the time. Recovery will take time. You will feel amazing sometimes and horrible others. This is life; it is not simple and controllable. It is okay to feel overwhelmed and have a time when you struggle and relapse. We just have to make the choice to pick ourselves back up and keep going.
I have had many clients who have been in recovery for years and they may never really struggle with their ED anymore, but something really stressful will happen (a break up, divorce, school stressors, etc) and they will hear that ever familiar voice in their head. Only this time we are prepared. We have tools to use to help us talk back and not let it sneak back in. So even when you are in recovery and you haven’t really struggled in awhile continue to use your tools and take time for yourself. Work on reaching out more, talking to people who are supportive, listening to music, putting up new post it notes, and whatever else works for you. Keep using them and before you know it, you won’t have to remind yourself to do so.

Let’s keep up the great work and please share what has helped for you, and what your recovery process has been. Everyone is unique! So let’s share our tips and tools as we keep working together towards a healthy mind and a healthy body.