Breaking The Cycle Of Eating Disorders: Five Steps To A Mindful Recovery

Everyone struggles to be present, to be mindful; busy lifestyles, demanding families, social media notifications which are literally designed to give you endorphins as they ping up – it’s no wonder our minds often dwell on the past or flash to the future, with little consideration for the moment.

For those recovering from anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder or other specified feeding or eating disorders (OSFED), feelings of

• Unworthiness for the future,
• Anxiety of how we’ve been perceived in a social situation,
• How we will control those feelings next time, can spiral. 
• Negative thinking about ourselves and the world around us
• Lacking confidence and not feeling good about ourselves
• Perfectionism and having difficulty dealing with personal mistakes 
• Obsessive thoughts and behaviours like restricting, bingeing, purging. Calorie counting

By practising mindfulness, which is just one of the therapies that we provide at Prosperity Housing Group. A specific form of psychotherapy that has been integrated into the recovery process from Binge Eating Disorder is Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, which often has emphasis placed on the practice of mindfulness and other relaxation techniques. You can feed your soul and manage those feelings in a productive manner. Here are five steps to a mindful recovery.

Be Kind To Your Mind

By practising mindfulness, we mean becoming more aware of who and where you are, what you are doing and why, without feeling overwhelmed. Mindfulness takes practice; you are giving yourself space to breathe, and think, and your mind will want to wander, your brain will fight to take over. Reminding yourself to gently come back to the present moment may be helpful. You aren’t aiming to find nirvana – simply to take a moment to sit, be aware of your body, your breathing and your mind.

Mindful Eating

By eating mindfully, we give greater awareness to our thoughts, emotions, feelings and behaviours. Eating disorders numb your emotions – when your starvation pangs are so strong, how can you feel sorrow, loss or anger? Practicing mindfulness can help a person reflect on what they are feeling or experiencing prior to a binge or starvation episode.

Reflecting on questions such as “what do I need from this moment?” can help an individual work through urges and identify what they really need to adequately nourish themselves. As you become aware, mindful, of your environment and the feelings associated with eating, start switching off distractions while you eat. You can start to enjoy the ritual of food

• Preparation,
• The taste of food,
• and even having company while you do so.

Live The Moment

Your illness is many things – the biological and psychological interact with life experience to build to a mental illness. Practising mindfulness will empower you to understand what is happening, why it makes you feel a certain way, and how it encourages you to engage in a destructive eating habit.

Prioritise The Positive

Practising mindfulness can lead you to understand that you are not your illness. Feelings of ambivalence and despondence can make recovery elusive for sufferers. Being present and prioritising positives will help you understand you don’t need to act on negative thoughts, and can instead nourish your body and soul via positive behaviours such as spending time with a supportive network.

Just Do It

You have worked hard to accept your condition, sought help to overcome it. Now you want to transition to independent living. Riding the waves of recovery is something many sufferers deal with; the average recovery time for anorexia nervosa is seven years, but some spend their entire lives working on it. 

We believe being part of a community is part of recovery, which is why we’re so passionate about supported living during your transitional recovery. Our nutrition groups focus on eliminating nutritional myths, understanding that there are no “good” or “bad” foods, and overcoming the need to feel that food must be controlled.

What’s next??

Schedule a Tour Of Prosper House

Are you or someone you know on their way to recovery? We invite you and your family and professionals to tour Prosper house and meet our caring staff and experience our friendly 24/7 supported living.