How does judgement keep you trapped in the binge cycle?
We all deserve a compassionate response whenever we’re in the midst of pain and suffering. But for many of us, responding compassionately to ourselves may seem almost impossible, beset as we sometimes are with self-recrimination. For instance, do you notice judgemental or critical thoughts arising about your progress in recovery? Do you notice that judgemental thoughts arise if you are struggling with a particular eating disorder behaviour? They might just be keeping you trapped in your eating disorder cycle.
Clinging to these highly critical thinking patterns can be paralysing, making it far hard to hold onto hope. Labouring under their weight, a person may find it hard harder to take the necessary steps towards recovery; in fact, they may trigger a slide into eating disorder behaviours.
Here’s an example. After bingeing, you may experience many negative, berating thoughts, combined with feelings of shame and guilt. These thoughts and emotions may trigger restrictive eating patterns, but that only sets you up for another round of bingeing. Learning to respond to yourself with compassion can help you acknowledge your feelings in a judgment-free manner, while also offering an effective means of self-soothing. This will help you to shift from self-condemnation to a place of self-care. From that place you may be able to confidently continue with your recovery goals of regular eating, thereby breaking the bingeing cycle.
What would it be like to respond to your struggles with compassion? To activate your ‘self-soothing’ system? It may be hard at first as you may not feel like you deserve compassion. It may take time to open yourself up to the practice, as it may feel unnatural. But self-compassion enables us to remember that we are not alone in our suffering and that each person deserves compassion in his or her pain and suffering. Responding gently to yourself can also help you to acknowledge your pain and suffering rather than berating yourself or constantly foregrounding critical thoughts. A compassionate response is a source of comfort, and may ultimately provide the robust foundation you need to continue your recovery journey.