Finding New Meaning and Purpose in Life After a Long Term Eating Disorder

Contributor: Crystal Karges, MS, RDN, IBCLC, Director of Content and Social Media at Eating Disorder Hope/Addiction Hope

As painful as eating disorders are, they often serve a purpose for those who struggle with these psychiatric illnesses.

Many individuals who have suffered with an eating disorder become dependent on the abnormal eating behaviors as a maladaptive coping mechanism, which often jeopardizes health and well-being.

While eating disorders are biologically based illnesses, they are often influenced and reinforced by environmental triggers, such as anxiety, depression, grief, stress, and more.

Learning to Find a New Identity

After dealing with an eating disorder for a significant length of time, it is easy for an identity to become the disease. A person may grow accustomed to the repeated and recurring doctors visits, being in an out of treatment facilities, and navigating life around the eating disorder.

Family and friends can begin to associate a loved one by their disease as well, particularly after years of struggling with an illness like anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder.

As healing begins to transcend and recovery occurs from an eating disorder, how can a separate identify be established and created, outside of what has been known from the eating disorder? Without an eating disorder to define decisions in life or influence choices, thoughts and feelings, it can be difficult to fill in the gaps and put the pieces together.

The hopeful part of recovery is that life is re-established outside the parameters of an eating disorder. Without engaging in an eating disorder, there is suddenly possibility for countless different things that can be created in the vacuum of what was the eating disorder. While this can be overwhelming initially, it is important that this process happens gradually and slowly.

Filling Your Life With What Matters

Venturing forward in life without the burden of an eating disorder can be scary at times but is also exhilarating. If you are in recovery from an eating disorder, do not fear what you are letting go of. Figuring out who you are outside of your eating disorder may be an overwhelming process, but the beauty of it is learning who you are and what you are passionate about outside of what an eating disorder has always dictated as truth.

Community Discussion- Share your thoughts here!

How have you learned to rebuild your life while in recovery from an eating disorder?

About the Author: Crystal is a Masters-level Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) with a specialty focus in eating disorders, maternal/child health and wellness, and intuitive eating. Combining clinical experience with a love of social media and writing, Crystal serves as the Special Projects Coordinator for Eating Disorder Hope/Addiction Hope, where her passion to help others find recovery and healing is integrated into each part of her work.

As a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, Crystal has dedicated her career to helping others establish a healthy relationship with food and body through her work with EDH/AH and nutrition private practice.

The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.

We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Last Updated & Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on August 14, 2016
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com