Author of the ED Bites blog, Carrie Arnold, wrote this post challenging the concept that eating disorders are “untreatable” and recovery is not possible.
Arnold suggests that: “This label becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Sufferers often believe they don’t need or deserve help. Being written off in such a way only confirms their belief in their inherent unworthiness and their inability to get better.”
Scottish eating disorder charity NEEDS Scotland suggests the average time for recovery is around 5-6 years, although it may be shorter if treatment is started early. Serra, who is recovering from an eating disorder, says:
“I think that in recovery there are many stages. I remember believing that it was as good as it could get if I felt in control of my eating disorder rather than it controlling me. I was still engaging in behaviours, but felt like I had a grip on things. Sure, that was an improvement but looking back now I can see it was still dangerous.
Currently I am weight-restored to a healthy, stable weight. I still get triggered by comments about my body or talk about food – they all make me want to restrict [my food intake] or to exercise – but I have learned that resorting to negative behaviours won’t actually help.”
However, while eating disorder recovery can be a lengthy process, getting better is possible. Lisa has recovered from an eating disorder. She says:
“My mum was always very adamant that I would make a full recovery. We’d both read that ‘it’s just something you learn to live with’ and when it came to the hard part of recovering, relearning the day-to-day stuff that you lose with an eating disorder, I started to believe that.
I can see how people think that you can’t recover – there are still things that remind you of what happened – but to me, being recovered is when you do something you were once terrified of, and only realise afterwards how easily you just did it. You finally feel at home with yourself.”
Recovery from eating disorders is possible. The sooner treatment begins, the sooner people can recover. This is why a greater awareness of eating disorders is vital and why there must be more education regarding eating disorder misconceptions, such as those suggesting eating disorders don’t affect men or are only an issue when someone is emaciated.
More information about eating disorder treatment can be found here.
What do you think about the misconception that recovery from eating disorders isn’t possible?
EDucation: Explaining Eating Disorders 