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Advice to Aid Recovery

If recovery from an ED was easy, everyone would do it. But gaining weight and keeping food down often becomes an anorexic's or a bulimic's biggest fear; people suffering from Compulsive Overeating find it difficult to stop their binge cycles. This list comes from my own personal experiences, things I've found helpful in combating my eating disorder..

Get a pet. Caring for something warm and fuzzy motivates you to stay healthy because there is another life that is completely dependent upon you. If you were to get seriously sick and get hospitalized (or worse yet, if you die), what would happen to your animal? Plus, you have someone to talk to and snuggle when you really need it; unconditional love is a huge motivator.

Get online; don't go to pro-ED or other triggering sites, but get involved in a chatroom and support group like Something Fishy. Having friends experiencing the same thing you are gives you strength and lets you know you're not alone. In them you will have a resource when you feel the need to purge or binge, people who will help remind you of why you want to recover.

If you have clothes that no longer fit you, get rid of them or put them someplace where you cannot easily get to them. Not everyone can be a size 00, and looking at clothes that no longer fit can be a huge trigger.

Flush any diet pills, laxatives, or emetics you may have. Remove the temptation to take them. Plus, you will have to spend ridiculous amounts of money to replace them...

Spend any money you would spend on diet pills, laxatives, or emetics on something else you really enjoy!

Taking up painting, scuplting, writing, or another creative outlet gives you a way to express your feelings in a concrete manor. It will also give you something to do when you feel like over-exercising, binging, or purging.

Keep a list of all the good things in life you would miss if you fell seriously ill. Keep this list someplace where you can look at it often to remind yourself why you want to recover.