Recovery is possible!

One common fear for those struggling with an eating disorder is the question of whether it is really possible to recover from an eating disorder. Lots of people have tried to recover on their own before - perhaps using willpower to control their eating, or trying to add foods into their diet. However, often they go about it the wrong way, or focus too much on food and do not look at the underlying issues. Sometimes the challenge of changing their eating can seem too much, and this leads people to fear that they will never be able to recover. Some people worry that they are not strong enough, or that their eating disorder is somehow a sign that they are mad. This really isn't the case however. An eating disorder is a coping strategy that someone has become trapped within - a strategy that unfortunately causes more problems than it solves. It really is possible to recover - and as many of our staff are recovered sufferers, we really can vouch for this.

What is recovery?

Perhaps the most common difficulty with thinking about recovery is having a clear idea of what it actually is. For those in the middle of an eating disorder it can seem as if (for everyone else) recovery is about weight and eating - about gaining weight for those who are struggling with anorexia, or about regulating and controlling eating for those who are fighting bulimia or binge eating disorder. In fact, eating and weight are just a small part of recovery and really are more of a symptom of how well recovery is going rather than the main feature of recovery.

ABC has publications and resources to help you in your journey towards recovery notably our member Befriender Scheme and our book entitled My Little Book of Recovery. For more information please go to our publications page.