When someone has an eating disorder, thoughts and feelings about body shape, weight, or eating take over their life. They may plan their days around eating or exercise routines or be preoccupied with feelings of guilt or anxiety related to food. Sometimes, it can feel like their eating disorder is a big part of their identity.
With so much focus on eating, young people often stop putting time and energy into looking after themselves. Their mental and physical well-being ceases to be a priority when their self-value is mostly centred around food, body shape, or weight. Even if a young person still wants to care for themselves, they may find that self-care is difficult to maintain alongside an eating disorder.
Eating disorders are often underpinned by low self-esteem. Low self-esteem can also act as a barrier to self-care, especially when young people feel like they are “not worth” looking after – even by themselves. This can contribute to the loss of self-care practices.
Why Is Self-Care Important in Eating Disorder Recovery?
Self-care is important for everyone, whether or not someone has an eating disorder or another mental health problem. It helps us maintain mental well-being, something that everyone deserves. Self-care makes it less likely mental health problems will develop and helps make existing symptoms better.
A big part of recovery from eating disorders involves building a positive and holistic sense of self. When a young person learns to value their many strengths and attributes, thoughts and behaviours surrounding food and body image start to feel less important. Self-worth and self-confidence also help young people believe in their ability to recover and keep going despite the challenges.
Practising self-care helps young people develop an idea of themselves as something that is worthy of love, time, and support. It helps them become more attuned to their physical and emotional needs and attend to these needs with loving-kindness. Instead of relating to their body through judgement and over-concern, self-care relates to the body through self-compassion and an appreciation for their physical self.
Self-care also helps with managing difficult emotions and maintaining a more positive and stable mood. It helps prevent tiredness, stress, and anxiety. All of these things are important in eating disorder recovery, reducing potential triggers for disordered eating behaviours and giving young people the strength to continue.
Rebuilding Self-Care Skills
When someone has an eating disorder, even the basics of self-care can be lost. This means that young people often need to actively rebuild self-care skills as part of the recovery process.
Rebuilding self-care involves rebuilding routines. Self-care isn’t something that should only be practised occasionally or during times of crisis. Instead, self-care should be realised throughout the day, with respect to many different aspects of a young person’s life. This might involve prioritising a good night’s sleep in the evening or taking time each day to relax and unwind.
Practising self-care also requires understanding what self-care means: what it is to care for yourself. Self-care is about caring for yourself in the same way as you would care for a person you love. This includes actions of care but also a mindset of compassion, praise, and acceptance. It involves making time for yourself, listening to your needs, and acknowledging their importance.
Self-Care Techniques
There are many different self-care techniques and practices that a young person may re-build during eating disorder recovery. Here are a few examples.
Breathing Exercises
Breathing techniques can help a young person calm down when they’re experiencing anxiety, stress, panic, or difficult emotions. Slow, deep breathing calms the central nervous system, regulating emotions and reducing anxious thoughts.
Sleeping Routines
Sleep is one of the most important parts of self-care. When we sleep, our bodies recover, rest, and repair themselves. Getting enough sleep is associated with a vast range of benefits for our mental and physical health.
Young people should try to follow a regular sleeping schedule with at least 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Adolescents often need more sleep than younger or older people and may naturally fall asleep and wake up later. Young people’s routines should reflect these needs as far as possible.
Creativity
Part of caring for yourself involves making time to play, be inspired, and express yourself. Creative activities like drawing, cooking, playing music, and writing help young people to feel fulfilled and excited while developing their identity and sense of self-worth. Creative activities can also help young people calm down, manage difficult emotions, and distract themselves from thoughts about food or their bodies.
Spending Time with Friends and Family
Spending time with loved ones helps young people build fulfilling relationships, feel supported and cared for, and develop their self-esteem. Fulfilling relationships can break the feelings of isolation and loneliness that often develop during eating disorders. They also help young people move their focus away from their own bodies and eating habits towards shared experiences and perspectives that are positive and healthy.
Positive Affirmations
Self-care isn’t just about actions in the external world but also what’s going on inside our minds. Young people with eating disorders often experience a negative and critical inner voice that underpins their eating disorder.
During recovery, it’s important for young people to develop positive, motivational thought patterns that counter their critical inner voice. They might like to practice making positive affirmations and statements of love towards themselves, reminding themselves of all their strengths and their progress in recovery.
Taking Care Online
Some young people find that social media can support their recovery journey. They may follow content that shares positive attitudes towards food, eating, and bodies, such as body compassion and body positivity.
However, social media also has the potential to be harmful to eating disorder recovery. Young people recovering from eating disorders often compare themselves and their bodies to others, sometimes without realising it. When they’re browsing online, it can be difficult to avoid pictures and images that may trigger these thoughts.
It can help young people to be aware of how they feel when they’re online and change the kind of content they follow and view if they need to. If certain accounts make them feel bad or cause problematic thoughts, they can unfollow or block them. It may be best for them to take a break from social media or use it less for some time, focusing instead on hobbies, relationships, and other interests.
The Wave Clinic: Specialist Mental Health Support for Young People
The Wave Clinic offers specialist mental health programs for young people and families with eating disorders and other mental health concerns. Our residential and outpatient treatment spaces offer a diverse selection of treatment modalities designed and implemented by experts from around the world. We’re a Global Centre of Excellence for the treatment of eating disorders, supporting pre-teens, teenagers, and young adults with different levels of needs.
Our residential centre in Kuala Lumpur combines exceptional clinical care with education, enriching experiences, and community projects. We support young people to grow in self-confidence and achieve transformative change through new memories, perspectives, and experiences. We cater to young people with the highest needs, providing 24-hour medical monitoring, support and facilities when necessary.
If you’re interested in finding out more about our programs, get in touch today. We’re here to support you.
