Tips To Help Start Recovering From An Eating Disorder

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Eating correctly is hard for all of us, but for some, the struggle is deadly. Severe over-eating or under-eating may lead to an eating disorder, a disease many of us have experience with, even if it is rarely diagnosed. We were so grateful to have Dr. Allegra Broft, a psychiatrist and professor at Columbia, on the show to educate us on the various types of eating disorders, and to let us know what we can do if a loved one needs help.

Allegra walks us through three easy tips anyone can try if they are dealing with, or know someone who is dealing with, and eating disorder.

1. "Recovery needs to be an active process"The need to eat every day is a blessing and a curse for those who struggle with eating disorders. For many, meals can be pressure-filled encounters, while for others, they can function as dangerous psychological comfort. But Dr. Broft suggests that it is "fortunate" there are new opportunities to eat every day, because each meal, each bite can be a step in the right direction. When you sit down to eat, Allegra suggests asking yourself "Could I create the space to make a different decision?" Consciousness is certainly a step in the right direction.
   
   
2. Create food log or journalFor some patients, documenting the eating process is a helpful way to heighten this consciousness. Allegra advises to "create a space where you write down what you eat," focusing not on obsessive statistics but your "thoughts and feelings" on the process. She warns to not make it "obsessional", because that in itself is the type of thinking that leads to negative associations. Instead, the journal should exist to "gain access and mindfulness", and to allow yourself to step outside of the present and start making a change.
   
   
3. Measured thinking A common problem with eating disorders is "extreme thinking" when it comes to food. For example, the thought "creme brulée will make me fat" isn't just a harmless guideline - it reinforces a "mindset of depravation" that
   may lead to under-eating. Allegra urges us not to think in "black and white" when it comes to food.

Click here to check out the rest of my interview with Dr. Allegra Broft.



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