Refresher Course

You've got to realize that you didn't get to this point over night, Jennifer. Remember where you've come from and what you said you needed to do to move on:

1. Daily goal or purpose.
Have something planned that I can look forward to or accomplish.

2. Stable meal plan.
Identify fall-back meals that I can quickly prepare no matter what my emotional state; continued check-ins with people about my daily progress.

3. Spiritual/creative expression.
Explore and establish ways to stay present, process emotions and divert my attention while fostering growth and positive self-image.

4. Flexible daily structure.
Plan times for meals, snacks and some self-care, balanced with appointments and tasks or work; maintain an awareness of everything I both need and want to do so that I have a clear picture of how it fits together in healthy way.

5. Reliable, trustworthy support team.
Expand my support team as necessary and appropriate to include new people; remain willing to listen to support team and trust that they will be willing to tell me the truth.


Remember the lessons you've learned. You worked so hard to uncover the truths, don't hide them or hide from them:

1. I can choose to be healthy or I can choose to live in dis-ease. The decision and responsibility are mine.

2. Relapse isn’t failure; it’s a chance to make changes.

3. An urge to lose any weight is my eating disorder.

4. I can’t afford to take short cuts in my recovery. They undermine the work that I’ve done and the strength that I’ve built.

5. Transitions are breeding grounds for self-doubt and eating disorder thoughts. Even when behaviors sneak in, I have the power to stop them. I have the power to break the cycle because I’ve done it before.

6. Trust my treatment team. They’ll tell me the truth, see obstacles long before I do and challenge me when I can best handle it. I need to listen to them and ask for help.

7. I must let go of the eating disorder. It might be familiar. It might be the closest thing to grasp for and the easiest thing to cling to, but in the end, if I don’t let go I’ll hang myself.

8. Focus on staying on my feet. If I do, I won’t have enough energy left to worry about falling. And should I fall, don’t reach for the eating disorder. Trust my support team. Trust my coping skills. Trust myself.

9. I may not always be convinced I can accomplish my goal, but I have to just do it. If I don’t, nothing will change.

10. Contradictory emotions can co-exist and they won’t kill me.

11. There is no emotion that I am not entitled to experience. And any emotion I do experience I can handle.

12. My meal plan is not a diet; it’s just a guideline to map my way through eating disorder territory.

13. I am strong beyond compare. I do amazing things.