An Eating Disorder Therapist's Tips for Maintaining Recovery from Binge Eating Disorder
Binge eating disorder impacts almost 3 million adults in the United States.
It is also the most common diagnosis among both women and men struggling with an eating disorder.
It’s estimated that almost 80% of people with binge eating disorder are also struggling with another mental health disorder- studies show that 65% of people suffering from binge eating disorder also present with anxiety, and can have up to six times more likelihood of being depressed. Many people struggling with binge eating disorder have experienced chronic life stress, including trauma (PTSD) or complex trauma (CPTSD).
Over the years, we’ve blogged a lot about recovery from binge eating disorder and what it’s like to work with a binge eating disorder therapist in Pennsylvania.
But, how can you maintain recovery from binge eating disorder?
Let us give you some tips!
1. Continue to work with a binge eating therapist near you who is trauma informed and can support you in addressing other mental health concerns or life stressors.
Finding an eating disorder therapist who also specializes in treating trauma can be difficult. Here at Reclaim Therapy, we treat eating disorders alongside of co-occurring mental health concerns. Many people struggling with binge eating disorder have a primary goal of feeling more normal around food. This is 100% legit, we want to help you feel less anxious and obsessed about food, too.
But, once your eating has normalized, it can feel important to dig a little deeper. Turning towards and working with anxiety, depression or symptoms of trauma that you might be experiencing.
This is important because many times these symptoms are at the root of binge eating disorder. Oftentimes binging is an attempt to soothe, disconnect or regulate in the wake of difficult emotions, triggers and self-beliefs.
We provide trauma treatment in pennsylvania including EMDR therapy for eating disorders and EMDR therapy for trauma in Pennsylvania.
2.Continue to practice and develop interoceptive awareness.
What is interoceptive awareness? Interoceptive awareness is the sensory perception from inside of your body. This can include hunger, fullness, satisfaction, temperature, tension and pain.
While in recovery from binge eating disorder, the more you can practice connecting to your body with attunement and non-judgement, the better you’ll be able to understand and honor the signals of your body.
3. Keep adding to your coping tool box.
You’re going to need to continue adding (and using) coping tools to your coping tool box so you have strategies readily available to support you when you’re triggered. Consider what helps soothe and regulate you in moments of distress? Practice using these strategies often, so they feel accessible to you in moments that you might use binging as a coping mechanism. Binge eating counseling in Pennsylvania can help you expand your coping tool box!
4. Keep eating adequately and regularly, prioritizing satisfaction.
Something that we often start helping our clients with is how to use a flexible eating structure to support them to be well fed. This means eating meals and snacks throughout the day to prevent swings from restriction to binge eating. In recovery, it is important to maintain a similar eating style so that your body and your mind knows that it will be fed enough and often.
When you regularly prioritize being as satisfied as possible with your meals, the less likely you’ll be to persevere and feel powerless around those same highly satisfying foods.
5. Start, or continue, working on body image issues.
As body image therapists we know how hard body image work is. It’s deep work uprooting and unlearning messages that you learned, internalized and have believed about bodies for so long. We help people recognize body image triggers, practice resiliency to body shame and practice respecting their bodies through their self-talk, the way they care for themselves and how they connect to their bodies.
We believe that recovery from binge eating disorder is more than possible.
Staying engaged in recovery, showing up for it, and yourself, as much as possible, will help you continue move through triggers, slip ups and impulsive moments.
Remember, recovery is a choice. Slipping up and returning to recovery. Getting triggered and coming back to recovery.
There is always healing the return.
You’re worth it.
🧡,
We specialize in providing binge eating therapy in Pennsylvania.
The Reclaim Therapy team is a group of therapists who specialize in providing eating disorder treatment and trauma therapy in Pennsylvania. We also provide EMDR for eating disorders in Pennsylvania and EMDR for trauma in Pennsylvania. We want you to know there is no shame in struggling with binge eating. You deserve recovery and a big, full, life outside of obsession with food. Contact our team by clicking the button below!
Other Services at Reclaim Therapy
Therapy for binge eating isn’t the only service our team offers. If you are seeking more specialized support, we can also offer EMDR therapy, trauma therapy, eating disorder treatment, body image therapy, and online coaching. Feel free to visit our blog for more helpful information today!