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Will gladly climb your walls if u meet me halfway
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: USA
I am currently:  
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Physical and Mental ED tips/advice!
Well, I took a lot of time putting this together in hopes that it will help others. I figured we need a place where we can go to for advice in case we dont want to post for help on the forums. These are just ideas that I personally came up with while doing this, so if there are any more ideas out there, please share. Any ideas/tips/advice welcome of course!
-Are you an over exercisor? I know that sometimes it feels good to exercise excessively... because we feel we need to burn the calories off our body. The problem comes when we no longer have the calories to burn because we are not keeping enough food in our bodies. So what can we do to find a balance? Talk to a professional trainer. Tell them how much you are eating (try to be as honest as you possibly can) so that they can assess how much exercise your body can handle. Because too much exercise can lead to things such as heart palpatations, light headedness, and dehydration. Create a balance between the two so you are still remaining healthy without running into medical problems. If you dont feel comfortable talking to anyone about it, try your best to schedule accordingly yourself. Remember you can never burn calories that arent there, so the excess exercise is essentially hurting you more then helping you.
-Your first visit to a doctor can be one of the scariest and hardest steps to begin the road to recovery. A lot of us have a hard time expressing our emotions in fear of the reaction of the other person. The best tip is to write a letter to your GP. You will be able to get to say what you need to say without any interruptions. And if you chose, you can give the letter ahead of time to you can give them time to react to what you are saying.
-If you dont like the letter idea, and would rather tell, that is okay too. If you are just going to your doctor for the very first time for all of this, you honestly do not have to tell them anything. Just enough to get a referral to a specialist that can really help you. It is completely up to you hat information you chose to share.
-If you have been in any kind of counselling, but they dont know about your eating issues, I would try to use some methods I listed above. The more you tell the better they are able to help. They are there to help you, not judge you. Most likely, you are not telling them anything that they havent heard before. They are solely there for your purpose. Remember, all of this relates to wanting to help yourself first.
-Being diagnosed. Try not to overwhelm your thoughts when the doctors tell you a diagnosis they have for you. It really doesnt mean much to you anyway, it is for the professionals so they know the best way to treat you. Diagnosis can be scary, but if you think about it, it is a good thing. It is better then not knowing, right?
-Being weighed at your doctor. We all have things come up that we need to go to the doctor for. And almost everytime the doctor will weigh you. Now this could be just an ordinary appointment or one to check up on your eating disorder. My suggestion (especially if you are in recovery) is to turn the opposite way on the scale so you dont see the actual weight. Knowing how much you have gained will really be of no benefit to you unless you want to know how well you are doing. But for most, that would cause stress. You are being weighed solely for your doctors purposes, so he can assesss your health. He shouldnt ask why you dont want to know the numbers, but if he happens to ask, just simply say you dont want to know and that should be the end of the conversation. While on the topic of scales, if you are recovering, or even if youre not, put away the scales. Flip them upside down everytime you are in the bathroom if you have to. Again, they are no benefit unless you want to know for positive reasons.
-Going to the hospital. A lot of people are given the opton of whether or not to be hospitalized or not. First, remember that this is just an option, but it is given to you because someone thinks that this would be the best thing for you. Do some research if you wish, look into the hospital options that you have and the kind of curriculum that they offer. Take your time making this decision. That way you dont have to make the sudden decision and be completely surprised when you get there. Remember that there are MANY success stories from being in the hospital. Think of it as positive as you can... it could be the thing to set you free from your ED. Plus, you will feel a lot less alone then you may be feeling, because you will meet many others going through the same thing that you are.
-Going out to a restaurant is something that can cause a lot of anxiety. I would suggest calling the place that you will be attending before you go just to see what is on their menu, to prepare yourself a bit better. Try to remember that this is just one meal, it will not kill you to eat it. Remember doing things such as this are HEALTHY for your bosy, as we need the food to survive.
- To recover, we need to eat more. Thinking about that fact itself can cause anxiety. So here is my suggestion... regulate regulate regulate. Make sure that you are getting the full healthy calorie count in your diet daily. Eating full meals is sometimes really hard, so break it down. eat small meals throughout the day, along with some small snacks. This will help because your stomach will never feel too full, so you 'need' to purge can decrease. On the other hand, it will never be completely empty either. Your body will be able to regulate and process the food better, keeping your body healthy.
-Negative comments are some of the hardest things to overcome, expecially from someone that you love. There will never be the perfect solution to this, other then to overcome these. Ignore the person, walk out of the room. Remind yourself that you ARE better then that. They are most likely making those comments because of an insecurity they have about themselves.
-Remember that people with eatig disorders come in all shapes and sizes. You dont have to meet certain standards to be considered to having an eating disorder. It is not all aobut your weight, it is about your self-perception, and the way you think and feel when it comes to food. It is about the expectations and goals that you set for yourself. So even if you have the slightest feeling that you may have an ED, please take it seriously. Talk to someone, anyone... it doesnt have to be a professional, it can be someone like a family member or friend. The earlier you catch onto the symptoms, the easier it will be to overcome. Even here on RYL, talk to us about it and let us give our opinions... because most people with ED's are wishing they got help sooner when the early signs appear. Plus, no one, and I mean NO ONE, deserves to go through this alone.
Remember that you are unique and gorgeous in your own ways.
Again, any other ideas are welcome. I hope this helps in some way. =)
Take care everyone x x
Last edited by behindblueyes : 28-08-2007 at 10:43 PM.
Reason: Adding a few more things!
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