Getting into treatment can be a challenge. Yet, somehow people in recovery, regardless of their situation, have found a place to begin. Once you find your beginning place, then one step leads to another.
12 step programs are free. Low fee clinics exist. Even low fee or free in patient treatment centers exist for people who are willing to be part of research studies.
ANAD offers free eating disorder support groups around the country. So how do you find what's right for you?
Your first task is to commit to recovery. Then let that commitment lead you to your path. Then remain on your path as it meanders. Recovery is not a straight line.
The wonderful part of recovery work is that you don’t stay ill and then get better all at once. You get better gradually. As you get better and better your life improves. Your options increase. You may get better jobs or advance in the one you have. You may start to make more money. You certainly will improve the quality of your life.
So treatment, for example, could begin with free 12 step and ANAD meetings. As your health improves your mind becomes more clear. You recognize opportunities you never saw before. Your creativity develops with healing, and you see ways to take advantage of opportunities when, in the past, those means were present but, to you, invisible.
The quality and nature of your treatment can change and deepen as you move on your path. Just because a person doesn’t have much money now doesn’t mean that financial situation will be permanent.
Healing and recovery bring positive developments in every aspect of a person’s life. What seems completely out of reach one day becomes accessible and even part of ordinary life as you proceed with your healing and healthy development.
There’s nothing easy about recovering from an eating disorder. But people with eating disorders have to be sturdy and creative to maintain an eating disorder lifestyle. Commitment to recovery work means harnessing that creativity and sturdiness for developing solid health. Anything that respects and nourishes mind, body or spiritual health could be the beginning of your recovery path.
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