I wanted to share with you what exactly it was that helped me break free from the eating disorder and all of its dysfunction.

But first you have to know, that there’s not just one *simple* answer.  I spent many years “struggling” in recovery for eating disorders and in that time I had many “breakthrough” moments, which were exactly what I needed at that time and helped move me forward towards being fully recovered.

However, in this post I’d like to share three specific breakthroughs that actually pushed me over the edge, so to speak, and onto the “other side” of being “fully recovered”!

Here we go!!!

1. I made the decision to recover from my eating disorder.

You might be thinking, “Well I am in recovery for eating disorders, doesn’t that mean I made the decision to recover?” and the answer to that is NO!

Many women who are in recovery for eating disorders are still “on the fence” on whether or not they actually want to FULLY recover and there are a few reasons for that.

First of all, you might not be able to imagine or conceive of a life without the eating disorder behaviors, or maybe you’ve never even thought about it. You might have gotten into recovery because you know that you have a problem or maybe you think you “should” be in recovery for eating disorders.  I know I was like that but I honestly could not even imagine a life where I was not controlling my weight, being self-conscious about my body and worrying about food, weight, exercising and dieting all the time.

For a long time in my recovery for eating disorders it was like I had one foot in the door and one foot out… I was hanging on to the behaviors and afraid of letting them go.  I wasn’t fully committed to either recovery or the ED, and was in this weird state of wanting recovery but wanting the eating disorder at the same time.  

 

Making the decision to recover was a big leap to take, moving away from simply just “recovering” towards being actually “recovered.”  It meant I was actually working towards something, that there was a light at the end of the tunnel.  I knew I wanted to get there as quickly as possible, so I went through it as fast as I could after I made the decision.

 

Another reason that you may not have made the decision is that you might not believe it’s actually possible for you to fully recover.  You might believe what many “professionals” out there say, which is that you will ALWAYS have your eating disorder – you can manage your symptoms but you’ll never quite be free of it.  This is simply untrue and I believe that full recovery for eating disorders is possible for anyone, if only you first believe it is possible for you – which brings me to number two…

 

2. I believed it was possible for me to fully recover.

Belief is quite possibly one of the biggest things that helped me break free from the eating disorder.  I was studying a lot at the time about the human brain and how one of the main components of success is having BELIEF.

 

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” ~Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

 

I started to realize that if I wanted to truly stop the eating disorder behaviors, I first had to actually believe that it was possible.  So how did I develop this belief?  I had to think outside of the box and start thinking about the possibilities for my recovery.

 

I started asking myself questions like, “What would full recovery be like? How do I want to feel? How do I define full recovery?”

Then once I had an understanding of what exactly it was I wanted, the question became, “Do I believe that I can achieve it?  Do I believe I truly can have it?  Do I believe I am worthy and deserving of it?”

 

I’ll admit, some of my dreams for my recovery for eating disorders were very overwhelming at first.  Yes I wanted to feel comfortable in my body, I wanted to eat intuitively, I wanted to have a good relationship with food and my body, I wanted to feel sexy and good about myself, I wanted to develop my self esteem and confidence, I wanted to be happy and fulfilled and love myself, I didn’t want to use food to cope anymore, I didn’t want to have anxiety or be depressed anymore, I wanted to stop binging and purging, the list goes on and on.

This is where many women get stuck in their recovery because you’re thinking, “Oh my gosh, I’ll never be able to do ALL of that,” and then there goes that BELIEF right out the window!

So you can see how BELIEVING in yourself is a huge part of *truly* breaking free, and yes it can seem overwhelming at times…

 

However, I came across one piece of information that changed everything:

 

A belief is simply a thought we think over and over again.

 

“Holy crap!” I thought.  Now this is amazing!  It came down to that level of thought and as I became aware of my thinking I realized how my thoughts were fueling the eating disorder.  I started dismantling and letting go of SO MANY dysfunctional beliefs one by one.

I started becoming aware of those thoughts and then I was free to choose new, healthier thoughts that supported me and my recovery.

 

“Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.” ~Charles F. Kettering

 

It is important to simply take baby steps, one at a time here, so that you don’t get overwhelmed.  For me, I had to remember to take it one day at a time and sometimes even one hour at a time.

What helped me to gain that *belief* was simply the understanding that if I continued to change the thoughts in my mind, then I would eventually get to where I wanted to go.

I believed in myself and that it was possible for me to fully recover.

I believed and knew in my heart I could get there.  It didn’t matter how long it took.  One day at a time I moved closer and closer to full recovery, and eventually I got there!

 

“If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” ~Mahatma Gandhi

 

3. I started to look at my recovery (and life) as a Grand Journey, an experiment with life lessons to learn along the way.

The third major thing that I began to look at life in a whole different way.  I stopped caring about what I “should” or “should not” be doing in my recovery and starting asking myself, “What am I learning from this?”

Each time I would encounter a challenging situation, or fall backwards and have a slip in my recovery, I stopped beating myself up for it.  I stopped criticizing myself for what was happening and started to focus on what I was doing right.

I started to be grateful for the week or two that I had been abstinent from the behaviors, instead of analyzing and obsessing on myself “messing up” and “making a mistake.”

I realized that I could learn from what I was going through and pull out the wisdom from my pain.

By looking at recovery as a series of lessons, it really challenged me to grow outside of my comfort zone and not be so stuck in the vicious cycle anymore.

Of course, I wanted to change, and if you aren’t willing to change, then your life won’t change.

 

In order to get different results, we have to take different actions and I started approaching my recovery like a big experiment.  It was actually kind of fun!  I started to discover what worked, and I kept doing it.  I also learned what didn’t work, and I stopped doing that.

I grew and expanded and stretched against my life because I realized this is my journey and I could choose what direction I wanted my life to go.

I knew where it was I wanted to go, and of course I made “mistakes” along the way.  But those mistakes allowed me to learn things about myself I never knew, such as how to be easy on myself and take care of myself.  I gained self esteem and confidence each time I did what was scary and fearful and anxiety provoking, and I became stronger for having gone through it.

 

Recovery is a journey and I like to compare it to climbing a mountain.  Sometimes we fall down or stumble, or go off into the woods somewhere, but as long as we get back on the path, that’s all that matters.

When that happens, ask yourself, “What did I learn from it?  How is this helping me to grow?  What can I do differently next time?”

 

When you begin to view life in this manner, everything changes.  Everything has a purpose and you can learn from every experience and every person you encounter in your daily life.  There are no accidents if you choose to believe so.

 

 

These three mind-shifts – making a decision, believing, and learning lessons along the way – have truly have changed my life!!  As I continue to move forward growing and expanding my being, I still apply these principles and use them in my daily life.

It’s amazing what you can do if you just apply them.

 

So what about you, beautiful soul?  How can you use these breakthroughs to propel you forward in your own recovery and life?

Looking forward to hearing your experiences!!

Peace, Love + Freedom,