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Readjusting a Treatment Plan for Recovery from an Eating Disorder
Recovery from an eating disorder is a process that often involves many steps forward and even more steps backward. Relapses are not uncommon in the journey towards recovery from an eating disorder, but you need to be able to readjust your treatment plan.
It may even be necessary to move between treatment levels while recovering from an eating disorder; for example, needing a higher level of treatment after being in a less acute level of care (such as outpatient or intensive outpatient care). While it can be difficult and even disheartening to experience such highs and lows with recovery, it is often part of the process towards wholly healing from an eating disorder.
Adjusting with Your Treatment Plan
If you have found yourself in the position where your treatment plan for recovery has changed, know that you are likely doing what is necessary for maintaining your recovery and keeping yourself from falling back into detrimental eating disorder behaviors. For example, you may have been following an intuitive eating approach for your meal plan but because of experiencing a relapse, have needed to return to a more structured way of eating, such as through an exchanged based meal plan.
While this change may be difficult to readjust to after following a certain way of eating for some time, this change is entirely necessary to getting you back on track or preventing more severe eating disorder behaviors from reoccurring.
Changes in your treatment plan for recovery from an eating disorder do not mean that you have failed, that you are unsuccessful, or that you will never recover from your eating disorder. These are extreme forms of thinking, and allowing yourself to stay within this type of negativity can keep you from moving forward with your recovery. It is important to remember that eating disorder recovery is not a linear process, and the level of care you are in does not represent what you are capable of overcoming and achieving.
Staying Focused after Relapse
Relapses are not indicative of failure, and there are often many valuable lessons to be learned through relapse episodes. Perhaps the most helpful thing you can do is stay connected to support, both personal and professional, and rely on your treatment team to effectively guide you through the recovery process.
Trust the professionals who you may be working with and know that they have your best interest at heart, even if this requires a major adjustment to your treatment plan. Ultimately, your life is most important, and keeping yourself well and recovered is the goal of any treatment plan.
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 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 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 June 27, 2016
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com
The EatingDisorderHope.com editorial team comprises experienced writers, editors, and medical reviewers specializing in eating disorders, treatment, and mental and behavioral health.
