Author: Rhea Lewandoski R.D.
During eating disorder recovery having a regular intake of food usually within the structure of meals and snacks is necessary in providing your body with the fuel it needs for recovery and healing. This structure overtime can provide you with practice in trusting your body, your cues, and your ability to maintain recovery actions and problem solve.
However, if you have experienced this recovery practice before or are entering it now you probably have realized that having regular meals and snacks can feel distressing. It is important to distinguish that this distress is present because of the eating disorder not because of recovery. Behaviour changes in general and especially in eating disorder recovery are challenging because
The eating disorder views this change as a threat; this is often why it is difficult to trust your treatment team at first. This does change over time.
The human brain likes pattern, and changing this pattern is difficult. With consistency the new pattern/behaviour can truly become second nature.
Knowing that distress is going to be a part of meals and/or snacks during recovery, we can plan for it by solidifying some distress tolerance tools that work for you. Below is a list of skills to try-on and practice. A reminder that they do take practice and often we need more than one.
Some tips before we begin:
Practice these skills when you are not in distress.
Ask for support/reminders of the skills you want to practice.
Write down or set an alarm as a reminder of your skills.
Complete more than one tool/skill if needed.
Try multiple tools, everyone is different.
The goal is not to be able to take away all discomfort (I mean if that is possible, amazing). We are hoping to get to a place that the distress is tolerable enough to get through the meal/snack. Over time the brain will learn that this action (eating) is safe.
Completing the action (i.e eating meals regularly) helps to decrease the distress over time as well.
Before meals/snacks:
Name it, identify you are activated.
Set a timer for yourself to do something distracting before the meal i.e (20 min of TV, reading, chatting with a friend, creativity, sitting outside etc.).
Breath work.
Listen to an empowering playlist.
Wash your hands/face to activate your senses.
Ask for a hug or give yourself a hug.
Listen to a meditation.
Use a fidget toy.
Read a list of affirmations you have written down previously or write new affirmations.
Listen to a song and dance it out for 1 minute.
During meals/snacks:
Read a list of affirmations or recovery reminders.
Complete a distraction activity (word search, reading, conversation with others, comic book, joke book, listening to music or podcast).
Ask for support if available.
Set a timer for the meal if that is helpful to finish or as a reminder it is only “____ minutes long”.
Light a candle or something you like the scent of.
Use a favorite plate, or place setting.
Eat outside if the weather is nice.
After meals/snacks:
Distraction as needed (sometimes setting a timer for this is helpful if you are concerned it is going to become numbing).
Planning something for after the meal (hangout/call with friend, session with therapist or dietitian, task to complete).
Reading recovery reminders and affirmations.
Journalling.
Creativity (colouring, knitting, beadwork, cross stitch, sketching, etc.)
Being in community if available (family, friends, online).
If you’re noticing overwhelm, break it down. Pick one meal, one skill/tool, or one day and start there.
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