Do It Scared - 4 Tips for Taking Action in Eating Disorder Recovery Before you Feel Ready

By Sarah Baginski, Eating Disorder Recovery Coach

If you are in recovery from an eating disorder or disordered eating, you will likely experience some resistance to letting go of the behaviors that are no longer serving you. The fear of change, the fear of the unknown, and the fear of letting go of the eating disorder are some of the most prominent fears of recovery. So often, we delay action because we don’t feel ready, and the fear of change keeps us stuck. The hard truth is that in recovery from an eating disorder (and life in general) action almost always has to precede readiness. 

The good news?

The more you take action while scared, the less scared you will feel over time! 

Here are 4 tips for taking action and coping with the difficult emotions that accompany change, even if you don’t quite feel ready: 

1. Commit to one, small change every day 

Recovery can feel overwhelming when we approach it from an all-or-nothing perspective. You don’t have to see the whole staircase to start, you just have to take the first step! This could look like pairing a fear food with a safe food or decreasing your amount of activity in a given day. Make a list of all of the eating disorder behaviors to be challenged, and start with a change that feels least scary.  When it comes to behavior change in recovery, it’s important to remember that it feels bad because it is new, not because it is wrong! 

2. Cope ahead 

Cope ahead is a DBT skill that can be used to prepare for the uncomfortable emotions that often follow action in recovery. There are 3 steps to coping ahead. The first step is to identify the situation or change you committed to making. The second step is to decide what strategies or coping skills you can utilize to tolerate the discomfort following the change. Remember- it will only feel uncomfortable for so long and then the feeling will pass. The third step is to practice ahead of time. So actually take time to imagine or visualize yourself in that challenging situation and coping with it well! I suggest writing all 3 steps down so you have a roadmap for navigating the discomfort once you’ve taken action! 

3. Approach each change as an experiment 

This helped me tremendously in my own recovery! When we approach behavior change with curiosity, it feels less scary. I often urge clients to view behavior change as a mini experiment. If your eating disorder is harming you more than it’s helping you, there is not much to lose by trying something new and different, and SO much to gain! 

4. Implement the necessary support for accountability 
​
Change is hard, and you don’t have to navigate it alone! Whether it be a therapist, coach, or both, ensuring you are adequately supported is like having a safety net in recovery. Your therapist or coach may even be willing to do food exposures with you! This is something I do with my clients, and it’s something that helped me in my own recovery! 

Remember that change is a process, and it won’t happen overnight! Be gentle with yourself as you navigate change and the emotions that follow action in recovery. I believe in you! 

A bit about my own past recovery for some additional motivation:

When I think back to my life with an eating disorder I have such compassion for the past version of me that was struggling and terrified of recovery. I also have so much gratitude for the people who supported me along the way. I can think of countless examples of opportunities missed and occasions ruined by my eating disorder. I didn't even realize how small my life was until I began to recover. Recovery gave me back the brain space to invest in relationships, hobbies, hopes, and dreams far beyond the narrow confines of food and body. When my eating disorder went away, my whole world expanded, and I was able to reconnect to the things I loved. My own experience with an eating disorder is what inspired my passion for this work. I so deeply want the same freedom, joy, and spontaneity for you that I have found for myself in recovery! If you are struggling, know that full recovery is possible!

Sarah  has a background as a therapist and works with us providing eating disorder recovery coaching to teens and adults with eating disorders worldwide. 

She has immediate openings for new clients-click the link below to schedule a free 15 min phone call with Sarah!

Click here to schedule a FREE consultation with Sarah.

The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center founded by Jennifer Rollin. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia, OSFED, and body image issues. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney, Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We also provide eating disorder therapy in Arlington, Virginia and virtually throughout Virginia. Additionally, we offer eating disorder therapy virtually in New York (NYC), Florida, and California. We provide eating disorder and EMDR trauma therapy in Rockville, Maryland and virtually throughout Maryland. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com