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Coping and support
By Mayo Clinic staffIn addition to getting professional treatment for your eating disorder, you can also follow these coping skills:
- Boost your self-esteem. Get involved in activities that interest you and that are personally rewarding. These may include learning a new skill, developing a hobby or participating in a social group in your church or community.
- Be realistic. Don't accept what some of the media portray about what's a normal weight and what's an ideal body image.
- Resist the urge to diet or skip meals. Dieting actually triggers unhealthy eating and makes it difficult to cope with stress.
- Remind yourself what a healthy weight is for your body, especially at times when you see images that may trigger your desire to binge and purge.
- Don't visit websites that advocate or glorify eating disorders. These sites can encourage you to maintain dangerous habits and can trigger relapses.
- Identify troublesome situations that are likely to trigger thoughts or behavior that may contribute to your eating disorder so that you can develop a plan to deal with them.
- Look for positive role models, even if they're not easy to find. Remind yourself that the ultrathin models or actresses showcased in popular magazines often don't represent healthy bodies.
- Acknowledge that you may not be the best judge of whether your eating habits and weight are healthy.
- Consider journaling about your feelings and behaviors. Journaling can make you more aware of your feelings and actions, and how they're connected.
References
- Forman SF. Eating disorders: Epidemiology, pathogenesis and clinical features. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 22, 2011.
- Eating disorders. National Mental Health Information Center. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-disorders/complete-index.shtml. Accessed Nov. 22, 2011.
- Eating disorders. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://psychiatryonline.com. Accessed Nov. 22, 2011.
- Ranzenhofer LM, et al. Eating disorders. In: South-Paul JE, et al., eds. Current Diagnosis & Treatment in Family Medicine. 3rd ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2011. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=8150394. Accessed Oct. 20, 2011.
- Grave RD. Eating disorders: Progress and challenges. European Journal of Internal Medicine. 2011;22:153.
- Steffen KJ, et al. A prevalence study and description of Alli use by patients with eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 2010; 43:472.
- Steffen KJ, et al. A survey of herbal and alternative medication use among participants with eating disorder symptoms. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 2006:39;741.
- Breuner CC. Complementary, holistic, and integrative medicine: Eating disorders. Pediatrics in Review. 2010;31:e75.
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