What to Expect in Eating Disorder Counseling Part 3: Maintaining Progress
In Part 1 of this blog series, I shared what to expect in the beginning phase of eating disorder therapy in Plano. In Part 2 of this series, I discussed how therapy can help you change the behaviors that maintain eating disorders. In this final blog about what to expect in eating disorder therapy, I explain how we work together to deepen recovery work for long-lasting success.
In the later phases of eating disorder therapy, we work hard to figure out how to maintain progress. The key to success in this phase of recovery is a consistent decrease in eating disorder behaviors. With the behaviors out of the way, you can begin to explore what have been barriers to your success. For most people, this means going below the surface to explore the root causes of dysfunctional eating behaviors. Underlying anxiety, perfectionism, problematic family dynamics, or traumatic childhood events are often uncovered as triggers for eating disorders. No one’s recovery is a straight path. It takes however long it takes.
Learning and practicing coping skills in eating disorder therapy
You have likely developed coping skills for dealing with life’s challenges. Some of those skills are healthy, and some are not. Overeating until sick, self-induced vomiting, overexercising, and skipping meals are not healthy behaviors. Throughout eating disorder counseling, you will pay close attention to your coping skills, eventually learning what works and what doesn’t. You may discover that many of your behaviors with food and exercise served to help you manage anxiety or perfectionistic thinking.
A key aspect of eating disorder treatment is looking at your current ways of coping and finding skills that might better serve you. The best thing about this is that the impact is far-reaching. Improved coping skills might also improve your job performance, relationships, and overall life satisfaction! In eating disorder therapy you will learn to practice mindfulness, which can slow your response time between triggers and dysfunctional behaviors. You will learn how to tolerate distressing situations more effectively, improve interpersonal skills, and set more appropriate boundaries. You will learn to manage your intense emotions in new ways, without trying to control your body with food. And you will get the chance to practice these skills over and over and over again… with a supportive and compassionate therapist by your side!
Dealing with trauma in eating disorder recovery
Some people can think of specific events in life that caused a lot of emotional pain. Research shows that for those with eating disorders, these traumatic experiences can seriously affect how you function, even if they happened a long time ago. Examples include physical or sexual abuse, neglect, bullying, or growing up in a home where your feelings were ignored, or your caregivers expected way too much from you. You might not realize how these events are connected to your eating disorder, or maybe you do but aren’t sure how to handle it. Either way, trauma can make recovery harder.
For most with a history of trauma, exploring it must happen to overcome your eating problems. It may take some time for you to feel safe enough to do this with another person, and to understand the impact of these events. Your new and improved coping skills will come in handy if intense feelings come up when exploring trauma. The work we do together in eating disorder therapy is aimed at helping you learn to cope better with these past events so you can move on to living a full, rewarding life.
Body image work in eating disorder therapy
While body image will be worked on in all phases of eating disorder counseling, real progress is made in the later stages of treatment, after eating behaviors have stabilized and new coping skills have been developed. It is often said that body image problems are the first on the scene and the last to leave in regard to eating disorders and recovery work. We sometimes don’t see body image improving until a healthier weight is reached, or until there is significant progress made in decreasing distorted thought patterns. Clients in eating disorder therapy eventually learn to reframe their body image. The goal is to be so busy living a full and enriching life that there is no time or need to allow body size and weight to matter as much.
Preventing relapse in eating disorder recovery
Once you have achieved greater peace with your food behaviors and your body, the next step is maintenance. You and your eating disorder counselor will create a plan for recovery maintenance that puts together all you have learned about yourself-- what keeps you well and what places you at risk for returning to your old ways. You will explore your personal signs of slipping or relapse and will create a plan for preventing relapse. And again, with your eating disorder counselor cheering you on, you will practice this again and again!
Identifying values to help maintain eating disorder recovery
The true gift of eating disorder therapy is figuring out your values, or the most meaningful parts of your life. You will learn to live a life guided by these values, one in which your food and body image take their rightful place in your life. It’s remarkable how much time you will have to pursue new hobbies, interests, and relationships with your obsession over your body and food out of the way.
If you or someone you love is ready to recover from an eating disorder, I’d love to help you explore this more. I have over 20 years of experience helping adults improve their mental health. I specialize in anxiety and eating disorders like binge eating, emotional eating and overeating, anorexia and bulimia. I offer in-person sessions at my Plano office and online therapy in Texas. Contact me for a free 15-minute phone consultation and take the first step toward recovery. If I can't help, I can connect you to another great therapist!
