Expert: Meg - 5/4/2004

Question
I STRUGGLED WITH ANOREXIA FOR 6 YEARS,WHENI GOT PREGNANT WITH MY FIRST CHILD I STOPPED. I HAVE DABBLED WITH IT OFF AND ON,BUT NOW I AM 28 YRS OLD,JUST HAD MY LAST BABY 3 MONTHS AGO,AND MY ANOREXIA THOUGHTS ARE COMMING BACK,IT IS SCARY BECAUSE ONCE I START THINKING ABOUT IT,IT PULLS ME IN.I WORK BUT I DONT HAVE TIME TO WORK OUT MUCH.I NOW AM 5'4 AND WEIGH 146 POUNDS.YA,THAT HURTS TO ADMITT,ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO FIGHT THIS BEHAVIOR,I HAVE TWO DAUGHTERS AND I DONT WANT THEM TO GET THIS.

Answer
Hello Angie-

Congratulations on your new baby and on being the mother of 2 daughters!  That is so wonderful!  

I think that many people (myself included) struggle with getting past the mental part of this disorder and especially as we get back to a healthy place physically.  It really takes constant awareness and conscious choosing of being healthy and living rather than falling back into an anorexic-semi exsitance.  

Its great that you are aware that you are slipping-even in your thinking-and now is the perfect time to take some preventative steps so that you don't fall back in.  So, good for you for seeing this!

There are lots of things that I find helpful in getting/keeping on track and (and ultimately, you will have to discover what works best for you...though I'll list as many as I can think of).  

****GOALS****

What do you REALLY want with your life-  As you know, an eating disorder is really all consuming and leaves you with little to no time to focus on the things that will truly bring you hapiness.  Especially, now that you have a family, maybe really remembering what is important to you and making a conscious choice to put that stuff first will help you stop some of the thoughts/behaviors.

*****Therapist********
Oftentimes, it is almost impossible to fully recover from an eating disorder without getting to the bottom of the feelings/issues that cause you to engage in behaviors or repetitive thought patterns.  Not that therapy is the only way, but so often, having a little outside perspective helps to make these patterns clear and conscious-which allows you to change them.  So, its never a bad idea to try.

*****Journaling**********
Again, to get behind some of the "fat" or eating disordered feeings, again kind of difussing them

*****Support groups*******
Try www.anad.org or the treatment finder section of www.something-fishy.com for info on free or low cost groups

*****Stress Relief********
Anything that you can do that will relax you and help you get in a positive frame of mind is good in that it helps you to make healthy choices and to feel good in the meantime.  I can only imagine how busy and stressful having a baby and two daughters must be...so taking some "you" time (like taking a bath, catnap, walk, etc) is always good.

Also, if you can look back at what was caused you to get healthier in the past and then utilize some of those things (whether it be focussing on your kids, your health so that you can be a healthy role model, etc).

I can understand your fear of not wanting this cycle to continue with your daughters and feel that because you are aware and wanting to stop this pattern, you absolutely can.  Again, I would think that this can be a big part of your motivation in not falling back into the trap.  And, if need be, motivation to reach out and work out any remaining issues that you have so that you can truly put this away.

I hope this helped, and please feel free to email me if there is anything else I can do for you.

Take care!
Meg