Tip for Freedom from Disrupted Eating
Regardless of whether you binge eat, overeat or did in the past, when you have someone in your life who supports your well-being you have a gift in your life. You know the benefits of knowing that she or he listens to you when you are hurting. Knowing that she or he cares about you and helps you get back on track restores your faith and confidence in yourself.
The recovery tip is: reciprocate. When you trust this person and come to rely on him or her to have your back, you both will benefit more if you find meaningful ways to reciprocate.
Dogs and cats you live with know your moods. If you are kind and reliable supports for them you increase the benefits of kindness and support you receive from them. Support can come from objects like art and books if they give you a good feeling inside yourself. They can remind you of rich experiences and learning you've had through them in the past. Then those experiences and learnings join you now in the present. You become more stable.
How to use this recovery tip
When you are down, self-critical and hurting you may think or feel you have nothing to offer. I invite you to think about what you have or know that could be of value to a member of your support system.
Look at your skills, the challenges you have faced and what you used to meet them. What have you learned or developed that you may think is of little consequence to your situation now but was valuable in the past? What keeps you going now when you are struggling?
Your experience and insight, bits of information that have helped you, could be helpful to those who support you now.
You can remember when someone stood by you when you were down and return that in kind. Stand by a person. Stand by an organization. Stand by your can or dog with a touch and gentle words.
Letting that person or organization or animal know you appreciate their presence in your life is a gift. Going beyond gratitude to action can enhance the quality of your relationship and create more trust and self-respect on both sides.
You can always ask what their needs might be now. You can observe and see where they focus their energy. That is a clue to what is important to them. You can ask them how you might contribute to achieving their goals.
Recovery Tip Examples
People:
Listen to their experiences.
Ask about their family.
Remember their challenges. Check in to hear about the status of that situation.
Ask what they have noticed in your life that they would like to know more about for their own needs.
Organizations:
Contribute time, effort, money, testimonials.
Your Companion Animals:
Notice what they like or need or would enjoy,
More cozy beds around? More brushing and baths? More pets and rubs? More play? More walks? More veterinarian attention? More companionship? More games or tasks? More quiet time together?
The biggest need of companion animals is companionship. They often are alone too long. Giving your pet a pet may be a wonderful gift. Your pet needs what you need, love, a caring presence and a fun companion.
Books:
Share their value with others.
Contribute to book sharing on street corner boxes and libraries.
Read to children and people whose vision is failing or on a YouTube video.
Support your library.
Thumb through your favorites.
Dust them.
Straighten them out on the shelves.
Art:
Share the value you receive from art with others.
Support your museums and galleries.
Look through your art books.
Write short essays and little poems about what comes up in your when you see the art.
This recovery tip, if followed, will enrich your life and the lives of others. That enrichment will add more support to your own development as a healthy, stable and self-confident person.
This tip was inspired by: “Mentorship Is Not a One-Way Street,” by Cynthia J. Young
Joanna Poppink, MFT, is a psychotherapist in private practice, specializing in eating disorder recovery. All appointments are virtual. For a free telephone consultation e-mail her at
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Pix: woman helping woman: Image by go_see from Pixabay
Pix: two dogs and woman on beach: Image by Sven Lachmann from Pixabay
lots of reciprocity here! :)
Joanna Poppink, MFT, is a psychotherapist in private practice. All appointments are virtual. For a free telephone consultation e-mail her at
Author of
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