Tackling Fear in Eating Disorder Recovery
Fear can either motivate you or paralyze you. Many psychologist use the phrase “feel the fear and do it anyway” in relation to taking risks in life. I often use this phrase myself with clients. Eating disorders are by nature avoidant behaviors. They can help you put on the brakes when trudging ahead feels too difficult. Quoting from Geneen Roth who has made tremendous contributions to the field and authored numerous books on compulsive overeating, any compulsive behavior is really “a desire to be in an unthinking state”. So naturally as one hits scary points in recovery, the tendency is to retreat. Think about this. Can you remember a time when you took a big risk and found that it worked out well? The more opportunities you have to see this happen, the less fearful you will be in the future. Making changes in your eating is difficult particularly if it feels like you’re losing your lifeline. Fear is a natural part of the process. Let your team support you through it!
