Binge-eating disorder generally isn't an illness that you can treat on your own. But you can do some things for yourself that will build on your treatment plan. In addition to professional treatment, follow these self-care steps for binge eating:
Stick to your treatment. Don't skip therapy sessions. If you have meal plans, do your best to stick to them and don't let setbacks derail your overall efforts.
Avoid dieting. Trying to diet can trigger more binge episodes, leading to a vicious cycle that's hard to break.
Eat breakfast. Many people with binge-eating disorder skip breakfast. But, if you eat breakfast, you may be less prone to eating higher calorie meals later in the day.
Don't stock up. Keep less food in your home than you normally do. That may mean more-frequent trips to the grocery store, but it may also take away the temptation and ability to binge eat.
Get the right nutrients. Just because you may be eating a lot during binges doesn't mean you're eating the kinds of food that supply all of your essential nutrients. Talk to your doctor about vitamin and mineral supplements.
Stay connected. Don't isolate yourself from caring family members and friends who want to see you get healthy. Understand that they have your best interests at heart.
Get active. Talk to your health care providers about what kind of exercise is appropriate for you, especially if you have health problems related to being overweight.
2
Develop positive coping tools to use for managing your emotions. Try exercising, talking with a friend, doing yoga, playing a musical instrument or anything else that helps you manage your emotions in a more positive way.
3
Process your emotions instead of stuffing them down with food. People who binge eat or compulsively overeat often do so to "stuff down" painful emotions that they do not want to face. Eating disorders are symptoms of deeper issues, not the issue itself. Heal the pain that is driving the behavior, and you will no longer feel the urges to binge eat or compulsively overeat.
4
Focus your thoughts on topics other than food. We give power to the things we think about, so even if you are thinking about eating healthier foods, you are still fueling thoughts about food. Instead, think about things that make you happy or make you feel good about yourself.
5
Give yourself a cooling off period. When you get the urge to binge eat or compulsively overeat, tell yourself that you are going to wait 15 minutes. During that 15-minute period, use the other coping tools you have developed to manage your emotions. At the end of the 15-minute period, if you still feel the overwhelming urge to binge eat or compulsively overeat, then eat with no guilt.
6
Phase down the severity of the binge. If you do binge or compulsively overeat, take another cooling off period between courses. Instead of binge eating on 4 rounds of food, see if only 3 rounds will suffice.
When living with an eating disorder you may face an especially difficult struggle to cope, since food is essential to survival. There's no avoiding it — you have to deal with food on a daily basis. Having an eating disorder and being overweight is a double whammy. Here are some tips to help you cope:
Ease up on yourself. Don't buy into your own self-criticism.
Identify situations that may trigger destructive eating behavior so that you can develop a plan of action to deal with them.
Look for positive role models who can help lift your self-esteem, even if they're not easy to find. Remind yourself that the ultrathin models or actresses showcased in women's magazines or gossip magazines often don't represent healthy, realistic bodies.
Try to find a trusted confidant you can talk to about what's going on. Together, you may be able to come up with some treatment options.
Try to find someone who can be your partner in the battle against binge eating — someone you can call on for support instead of bingeing.
Find healthy ways to nurture yourself by doing something just for fun or to relax, such as yoga, photography, meditation or simply a walk.
Consider journaling about your feelings and behaviors. Journaling can make you more aware of your feelings and actions, and how they're intertwined.
No comments:
Post a Comment