Eating Disorder Recovery Tools

Often people talk about using your recovery tools when you are trying to stop a binge. But what does that mean? What are recovery tools?

Recovery tools are anything that you use to help you get to a recovered state. And that doesn’t just mean distracting yourself from eating. These are the actual things that you do to help yourself achieve a very deep state of recovery, where you are actively working on the underlying reasons as to why you act out in your addiction.

Top Ten Recovery Tools

1.)Journaling/blogging– writing about what you’re feeling and your struggles, feelings, thoughts. Often this can really help you to process feelings so that you don’t feel the need to binge.

2.)Getting Support. Going to a meeting, going to therapy, calling a support person, hopping online and talking to others about what you’re going through. The wisdom of others who have been through the same thing can be incredibly helpful.

3.)Painting, drawing, expressing yourself artistically. This is another way to process feelings.

4.)Using an alternative behavior notebook. You write down what kind of behavior you’d like to act out in, describe what you’d like to do, then write down why you’re feeling the urge to behave that way, what you are feeling emotionally and what brought you to this state. This is about understanding why you want to binge eat so that it doesn’t feel so elusive and out of control to you.

5.)Meditating or praying.

6.)Reading a recovery book. I like the Don’t Diet Live It Workbook. But there are several others here and of course thousands on amazon.

7.)Doing self care rituals (shower, bath, do your nails, etc.) to help elevate you so that you feel good about yourself rather than sinking into the depressive space of a binge.

8.)Thinking about the consequences of a binge. Perhaps even writing them down. Knowing that although you want to act out now, remembering what it will it feel like later.

9.)Walking slowly outside. (Don’t bring money or ATM card or credit card, nothing that you can buy food with.) Taking a nice leisurely walk is a recovery tool, because it can often help to clear the mind and get you back into a serene place where you don’t need to binge to feel better.

10.)Positive Self Talk. Be kind to yourself. Tell yourself that it’s okay that you want to binge, but that if you want to binge that there must be something else going on, and be gentle with yourself about that and try to be comforting and kind to yourself. No self deprecating talk, nothing like, “of course you want to binge, you have not self control, you’re weak, etc.” Instead, talk to yourself the way you’d talk to a child or your best friend. Kindly and with compassion.

What are some of your recovery tools that have helped you find success?

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