Finding Courage During Uncertain Times
Many of our lives have experienced a considerable shift in the past few months. Work, celebrations, trips to the grocery store, and spending time with the people you love might look a little different right now. The one thing you can hold constant through this transition is your recovery – and choosing to prioritize it during these uncertain times requires a whole lot of courage over comfort. Take a moment to celebrate your courage – this has been hard, but you have the strength to keep moving forward. If you are noticing that recovery has been a little bumpy, that’s okay too. In honor of National Mental Health Month, Mental Health America has shared a few practical tools to support you during these difficult times. At EDCare, we are sharing how you can apply these tools in your eating disorder recovery.
Mindset Matters
When eating disorders are used to numb emotions, we often find that emotions become heightened instead. So rather than numbing, try to make a conscious effort to get in touch with your feelings by labeling what you experience and then own your feelings. There is no wrong or right way to feel right now, or anytime for that matter! During these uncertain times, it might be easy to focus on everything that is going wrong. We challenge you to reframe your mindset to find the positives that may have come from this experience. Perhaps it has allowed you to see your strength and resiliency in a new light, or maybe it has allowed you to connect with those you love in more meaningful ways.
Reset
Many people are using this time to slow down, reflect, and reset. Can you identify any toxic influences in your life that could benefit from stronger boundaries? For some, these toxic influences may be hiding in their social media feeds. Pictures and status updates that leave them feeling bad about themselves. If this resonates with you, you could use this time to reset by doing a social media overhaul to eliminate toxic influences from your feed. For others, creating supportive routines around mealtimes might be a helpful reset right now. We challenge you to identify what this supportive meal time might look like for you.
Create Meaningful Connection
Struggling with an eating disorder can be incredibly isolating – add a quarantine and connection may seem impossible. Lucky for you, we have a few ideas to help you create meaningful connections during these difficult times. First, try to be intentional about connecting with others. Is there someone important to you who you haven’t talked to in a while? Why not use this time to set up a virtual coffee date? Making a point to support others is another great way to add meaningful connection to your relationships. This might look like reaching out to peers from treatment to check in on them or help them celebrate their wins.
We hope some of these tools have resonated with you and that you consider giving a few of them a shot. Regardless of whether you’re finding the positives or supporting others, your steps to support your recovery during these challenging times should be celebrated. You are courageous, strong, and resilient. We believe in you.
Share your mental health wins with us on social by tagging @eatingdisordercare and using the hashtags #CourageOverComfort, #MentalHealthMonth, and #Tools2Thrive.