The pathway of recovery requires great vulnerability, patience, openness, courage and determination. There’ll be times when you feel hopeful and encouraged as you see tangible progress. This progress might give you strength to keep going. And then at other times you may feel stuck or weighed down by eating disorder thoughts and/or negative body image thoughts and feelings. These might cloud any previous progress you have made. Doubts may arise and the hope you once held may fade a little. This is a time to respond with compassion, not judgement.
What I’d like you to keep in mind is this: recovery is not a linear journey. It is full of ups and downs; all are moments to learn from. Feeling stuck is a hard place to be. It could be hard to get in touch with your motivation. In this moment, please remember that you’re not going backwards and you are not failing. You are experiencing a normal part of recovery. Be kind toward yourself, and reach out for more support. Offer yourself statements of compassion such as, “In my struggles and in my pain, I deserve compassion and kindness”.
Your present struggles in recovery do not discount your past progress. Nor do they determine your hope for recovery. Your present struggles don’t mean you’re failing. Again, recovery is not a linear process. When difficult emotions arise and eating disorder thoughts are loud, you may feel like turning towards eating disorder behaviours. Instead, this is a time to be with your emotions and sooth yourself with compassion. In addition, you can reach out for help, allowing others to support you. We are going through difficult times at the moment, so it is even more important than ever to reach out for help, showing yourself compassion whilst clinging onto your motivations for recovery and to hope.