Dealing With Setbacks - Eating Disorder Recovery IS Possible

[Andrea Roe]

During my recovery from eating disorders I had setbacks - A LOT of setbacks. And whenever I fell, I had to learn not to beat myself up but be kind and patient with myself. It was often very hard to get back up again and continue on with my recovery and healing journey. Sometimes I was able to get back up again by myself… I'd spend some time in my misery and with my eating disorder but eventually got tired of feeling this way and somehow found the strength to pull myself back up again.

And sometimes, when I felt too weak to get back up again by myself, just tired of the whole recovery process and close to giving up the fight, I had people in my life who helped me get back up again. And I was angry, frustrated, felt like a failure and just wanted to be left alone... but my support team didn't care—all they wanted was to get me out of this dark place again as soon as possible so I could continue on with my journey and move forward to reach my goals. And often I got mad at my support team for helping me get back up…I didn't feel strong enough to get back up again. I was tired of trying again as I *knew* I'd just fail again in the end anyways. I was tired of being disappointed again and again, of failing again and again. But my support team never gave up on me.

In case you haven't already, please reach out and get help. You deserve to get help. You deserve to be happy and healthy. In order for someone to successfully recover, help and support from others is crucial. If it wasn't for my support team, I would not be where I am today. I would have given up somewhere on the way. It's important to have others in our lives who believe in us and help us get back up again when we fall. Recovery is not easy...but it is well worth it. This is a battle that can be won.

It's important to find those people that will support you through the good times and the bad. It could be someone in your family or a friend, your therapist or support group. Don't forget online. There are a number of really great communities out there whose sole purpose is to support you through this challenging time. RealBeautyIs.com is a good place to start, but there are also others out there like MentorCONNECT (www.key-to-life.com/mentorconnect), BulimiaHelp (www.bulimiahelp.com), Pale Reflections (www.pale-reflections.com) and Something Fishy (www.something-fishy.org)

The key is to find those first few people. Then, you'll no longer have to carry your burden by yourself anymore.

Stay strong and learn to believe in yourself. You can do this!

Andrea
PS. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I always welcome your messages!

PPS. For more information about me and to find out more about my recovery, visit www.youarenotalonebook.com