Hi, TH. I used to be anorexic from 12-15, kinda 16. I was treated in a hospital on 3 seperate occasions, and my last visit lasted around 4 months in duration. I will say that I do not beleive my psychiatrist played any significant role in my getting better. Ultimately it was my decision to get better that mattered, and the patients and staff at the hospital were helpful in the process. Again, ultimately it is going to be your decision to get better that will do it- no one else is responsible for your recovery just like no one else but yourself is responsible for your illness.
Things I found beneficial:
restistance exercise and not cardio
thinking of foood as medicine, and not whatever negative concept you thought of it as before
eating mindfully
It was in your control to become anorexic, so it is in your control to become better. Sure, you may need to be in a supportive environment to prevent relapse and give you some encouragement, but really it is your choice to get better, and when you decide that is what you want, you will.
And don't start tomrrow, start now. One of the things I remember vividly before I went into treatment each time was my telling myself I'll eat tomorrow. It would always be tomorrow because it would allow me to starve for one more day, and delude myself into thinking that I'll be starting from further back, so eating won't be as uncomfortable. Over time this just makes you more accustomed to the feeling of not having food in your stomach, so eating just becomes even more uncomfortable.
It is really lonely and scary, and there is no doubt in my mind that I would not have gotten better had I just seen a psychiatrist on an out-patient basis. The final time of treatment, I knew i wanted it to last and that I wanted to get better, but i also knew that I couldn't do without the support and structure that I'd find in a treatment facility.
So keys to getting better for me were:
accepting that I brought this on myself, and that it was up to me to overcome it
entering into an inpatient treatment facility willing to work with the staff and comply
not overanalyzing "the reasons" you became anorexic. I got/get asked this all the time, and i still don't knwo how to answer. WHo gives a f*** why? Seems like an easy way to lay the blame on someone else to me. I think it is self preservation, and that it's just the easiest thing to do at the time. I also do not think that anorexics are the suicidal type, having known many. The only time an anorexic pulls the suicide card is when too many calories are put in front of them and they're forced to eat.
accept that you are going to be very uncomfortable at times and this will be a true test of your character. Some of the worst things I've ever heard in my life have come from the mouths of 16 year old girls directed at well-meaning nurses trying to get them to cooperate and eat food. Not kidding.
take "baby steps"- small daily goals (meal by meal, etc) and one or two bigger picture goals.
It's also important to know that as you gain weight, your thinking will change in subtle but important ways. I think this is part behaviorism, and part just having more nourishment so your brain can think with greater complexity.
Umm..that's about all I can think of right now. I hope some of it was helpful. If you are seriously anorexic, I highly, highly reccoment going into inpatient treatment. I do not know of anorexic that has successfully gotten better through outpatient therapy alone. Anorexia is literally something you fight every second of the day b/c it consumes your thoughts, and you need people there 24/7 to prevent you from acting on them and help set you on the right path. You also need them for objectivity, because once you're below a certain weight, your ideas of what is normal are skewed.
Okay, that's really all I got right now. Hope you can put it to good use.
