Here at Reclaim we hear painful reflections like this everyday. The people we support are consistently measuring their worth as humans in this world all because of a tool.

A tool that is BS.

In so many ways.

Let us tell you some of those ways.

Myths about eating disorders run rampant in our culture.

Because of the way eating disorders have been portrayed in the media many people have a vision of what an eating disorder “looks” like. That combined with a general misunderstanding of the why’s/how’s of eating disorders by the general population and health care professionals alike, people struggling with their relationship to food and their body often feel stigmatized, not believed, isolated and alone

They impact not only emotional wellness, but physical wellness and relational wellness. This makes effective treatment of eating disorders imperative- the earlier someone receives treatment the greater the chance for recovery and mitigated health concerns.

Eating disorders can impact many systems and organs within the body. While treating eating disorders, the Reclaim therapists will frequently collaborate with dietitians and physicians to ensure the well being and health stability of our clients.

As eating disorder specialists here at Reclaim, we’ve seen firsthand how insidious, dangerous and consuming orthorexia can be.

Often starting from a well intentioned place to be more “healthy”, folks who have vulnerability to developing an eating disorder (biological, cultural and psychological vulnerabilities) can easily find themselves in a place that is quite unhealthy.

Entering a new year can be full of hope and promise. We offer one another New Year’s greetings full of well-wishes and good things. We consider new ways of living and being and doing and set resolutions to bring such ways to fruition.

yet hope and promise can so easily be twisted into self-criticism and judgment that lead us to set unrealistic and unfair expectations for ourselves.

A striking example of this involves diet culture’s obsession with tying a new year to a “new you” – implying that the current you in your current body is not good enough and needs to be changed. This can lead us to set resolutions centered on restrictive diets and punishing exercise.

If you have a body, you have a body image.

In a very direct way, body image refers to the relationship you have with your body. And for most people, that relationship can be pretty complicated.

your relationship with your body includes thoughts, perceptions, sensations, feelings, how you care for it and your experience living in it on the day to day.

The new year is upon us and so are the incessant ads, social media posts and commercials encouraging you to claim this year as the year you finally change your body or lose the weight.

I’m here to say that yes, it’s a new year… but, we don’t need a “new” you.

Current you is more than enough.

People who struggle with binge eating frequently don’t realize that it is an eating disorder, characterizing themselves as “bad, out of control or flawed.”

Despite the fact that 2.8% of people will suffer from binge eating disorder in their lifetime and that BED is three times more prevalent than other eating disorders, the general population most commonly hears stories about anorexia and bulimia.

Despite being the most prevalent eating disorder, the misunderstandings about causes and effective treatment of binge eating disorder, many people who are struggling don’t seek help.

Because of this lack of understanding, it can be difficult to find evidence based, effective treatment. Many of our clients here at Reclaim have shared experiences in previous treatment attempts that only drove them deeper into binge eating behaviors, leaving them feeling broken and alone.

Because of this (and many other factors) binging is often steeped in such intense shame, it can be hidden away for years, leaving people suffering in silence.

So often when folks start working with us here at Reclaim they want tools to manage body image distress, urges to engage in eating disorder behaviors, and ways to cope with anxiety and depression.

We know firsthand that having coping tools at the ready is an important part of this work. And, because we’re humans too, we have our go-to coping tools to use in times of distress and overwhelm.

To help you get some ideas of how to cope when you’re having a tough day, tough moment, tough week, each of the Reclaim therapists wanted to share our favorite tools to use in our own lives.

For most people, one of the hardest parts of recovery from an eating disorder and disordered eating is anticipating and experiencing weight gain. Yes, eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors can be tied to so much more than the image and appearance of the body, but fixation on maintaining and achieving a thin, lean, athletic, ‘healthy’, strong (insert latest #bodygoals here) is a common and painful experience for so many.

When you decide to start or re-engage in recovery from disordered eating or body image issues, it can feel like you’re losing a lot.

→ Behaviors (restriction, over-exercise, purging body-checking, bingeing) that really seemed to make you feel safe and contained.

→ An image of yourself that you believed you would achieve through the use of these behaviors.

→ A buffer or distraction from feeling difficult (and oftentimes overwhelming) feelings that your eating disorder or hypervigilance around your body provided.

→ The dream; for dieting to “work”. To be able to control the size of your body without feeling so itchy around food and hateful about your body.

When starting the *very* hard work of normalizing your relationship with food, being curious about how restriction is playing a role in your eating behaviors is one of the most helpful places to start.

Most people don’t equate restriction with all of the eating disorders, but the truth is that restriction is at the foundation of disordered eating, anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder and orthorexia (along with many other things!).

In the Dieter’s Rebellion Group for women struggling with food and body image, we take a hard look at cycles of behavior around food. And, for most people once they get curious about their own cycle, it’s relatively predictable. Restriction of some sort eventually leads to the “problem” behavior of binge eating.

Let’s flip things on their head for a moment. Let’s shift the lens of the problem off of bingeing. Let’s get curious about how restriction is contributing to your own cyclical behavior around food and your body.

to be seen, like really seen, after going so long without, is enough to bring on a whirlwind of body image attacks. Between the cultural expectations for bodies to be thin and static, unchanging entities, our own personal body stories and histories with disordered eating, the current climate is the perfect temp for skyrocketing anxiety about your body.

The therapists of Reclaim want to give you some tips on how to navigate this time and hopefully relieve some of the distress you’re feeling as you continue to re-enter your world.

There are endless amounts of memes floating around IG and FB encouraging witty or sassy responses when faced with these comments. I consider this a fight response- when feeling challenged or threatened, some people shift into fight mode.

I simply don’t relate to in-the-moment-sass. I shift to more of a flight response...how can I relieve this discomfort? Can I escape it?! No matter how much I wish it could, my system doesn’t operate in sass or fight. I’m one of those wake up at 3am thinking, “shit!! I should’ve said….”

And I know others feel the same.

Struggling with body image is something that most people can relate to. Bad body image days can be enough to knock you on your butt. The intensity of the thoughts, the self-beratement, the never-ending-changing-of-outfits, the endless body checking wondering where in the world *that* came from… and, the strong desire to crawl back into bed so that you can’t/won’t be seen.