Tranquil Tuesdays for Eating Disorder Recovery!
Fear is tough. Fear is emotionally paralyzing. Fear keeps one stuck.
Fear, particularly of the unknown, is one of the major barriers in eating disorder recovery. It is difficult to trust in the process, to take that blind leap of faith that life on the other side will be as safe as the eating disorder. As someone who has made it to the other side, I can tell you that it is, indeed, SO much better than life in an eating disorder.
More than the unknown, many fear feeling anything. Especially feeling uncomfortable. Feeling uncomfortable seems to be THE feeling that many try to avoid and refuse to sit through. At the beginning of my recovery journey people used to tell me how I had to be willing to be uncomfortable. I didn’t want to do that. I also had a therapist who said I had to do 3 things everyday that I did not want to do. I didn’t want to do that either.
BUT…I knew I did not want to be in the eating disorder. And as my first therapist told me, the only way out is through. Up until recovery, I had tried to go every which way but through.
The truth about fear, in many situations, is that it is much greater than the reality of the situation. We tend to focus on things we fear, which only makes the fear grow to epic proportions. Fear kept me stuck for many years, until I was ready to take courageous steps of action for recovery. Most importantly, I didn’t do it alone. I had a lot of support. And I was uncomfortable. But, I recovered! It is entirely possibly!!
Early in recovery, I heard these acronyms about fear: F.E.A.R. False Evidence Appearing Real F.E.A.R. F**K Everything and Run F.E.A.R. Face Everything and Recovery
How is fear working in your life today? Are you facing your fears today? What is ONE small step you can take towards conquering one of your fears today?
