TOP TIP No 7: YOUR TIMELINE TO RECOVERY

Let's look at the breakdown of how you’ll change over the next year in your incredibly liberating recovery process.

As you travel through your recovery, it's essential to keep in mind that everyone is different. The length of your recovery really depends on the severity of your bulimia, how many slip-ups you may have, and how quickly you work through each step and find what works for you. This could be anywhere between 6 to 18 months. So this is a rough guide.

Hang on…

Before you begin, go back to the beginning of this course, entirely focusing on following each step to completely understand where you are now and how you’re going to learn to begin to break your old habits, behaviors, and patterns.

As you work through each critical day, your mind will begin to rewire and change as your body adjusts to your new eating patterns.

Remember, day by day, you’re climbing step by step out of your dark hole; maybe you can already see a spec of light at the top? Or perhaps it's still dark and dingy in there. However, right now, keep reminding yourself that you can change and break those chains of bulimia.

Now that you’ve learned the “Emotional Freedom Technique,” tap on all the problematic thoughts and feelings you have about starting your recovery process. By reducing these stressful feelings, you’ll feel even more motivated to begin.

LET'S LOOK WEEK BY WEEK, STEP BY STEP, WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN YOUR RECOVERY

Week 1

•          Oh, these first few days, you may feel swamped with painful thoughts, feelings, and fears churning around, and you may well be drained, but this is a very normal part of recovery. It’s expected.

It's your poisonous leprechaun, your bulimia voice that’s saying, "Hey, you’re no good; you can’t do this; you’re not good enough; you’re hopeless, helpless, and worthless." He wants you to fall back into your old behaviors, but you must beat him off; he’s toxic and cruel.

This is incredibly important that you hear and understand this. To dispel the beastly leprechaun, you can keep knocking him from your shoulder by using the “Thought Stopping” technique from Step 5, to begin to free you of his rantings. Also, tap on whatever comes up.

•          As you learn more about you, many new positive revelations start to unfold, which inspires you to stay focused on your structured eating program.

•          Your urges to binge and purge could increase; this is a regular occurrence.

•          When you’re ready, start to reduce the number of times per day you weigh yourself and gradually reduce this as the week progresses until you feel empowered to toss the scales in the bin, which is where they belong.

Be compassionate with yourself and give yourself a break; this is a substantial first milestone.

Week 2 to 3

•          Your urges to binge and purge could continue to increase. So, start to become more aware of these and be kind and compassionate with yourself. Rather than trying not to think about the unbearable urge to binge or push it away, turn toward the urge; stay firmly with it.

It's about getting to know it, sitting with it, and choosing to accept it and feel it. See how long you can sit with it, if only for 30 seconds, and if you do binge and purge, so be it, but what can you learn from it? Then build from there.

•          As you start to eat more food, that dreaded bloating could well have slithered in. Reread Step 6, and learn how you can deal with any physical stomach pain and all these emotions; the more knowledgeable you are, the more comfortable you’ll be dealing with what’s happening to your mind and body.

Keep using the “Spin to Win” technique. To beat this bloating beast, you have to keep eating and nourishing your body with adequate nutrients and sufficient calories. If you do start to bloat, remember to wear loose baggy clothing and keep reminding yourself this is temporary.

 You’ll be surprised when, after turning toward the unbearable fearful feelings the urge is creating in you and accepting these feelings, they’ll become less intense and loosen their grip on you. They’ll begin to reduce and dissolve. This is the time to go back to Step 3, and learn to ride the urges with the “Urge Surfing” technique.

•          Your triggers will be encouraging your devious leprechaun to yell even louder. But as you slowly become aware of your triggers, then you can make changes to them and begin to break that chain of events that lead you into bingeing and purging. Time to work with the Instant Trigger Change technique in Step 2.

•          Exhaustion may increase, so go easy with it; you have a considerable amount of changes going on with your mind and body. As much as you can, take time out and focus on what you need to do to relax, sleep, recover, and heal.

•          Your structured eating program will be continuing to develop into an excellent healthy routine, and you may have had half or one full day of following your eating plan without wobbling. If you have, oh my gosh, it’s time to give yourself a huge pat on the back, your stomach, and anywhere else you want! Congratulations!

When you aren’t feeling inspired to continue or have a slip-up, use your “Motivation Booster” technique to fire you up again, which you will be learning in this step.

Week 4 to 6

•          You still have ups and maybe not so many down days. Your leprechaun again may spring into action, verbally attacking you. But at times when, in the past, he would typically be screaming, now he’s not and this is lessening.

Fearful thoughts and feelings still swish into your urges, but the good news is that these are diminishing. But like a roller coaster, they can still build as you continue to urge surf with them.

•          Your initial bloating will have decreased slightly. Wahooo! How exciting is that? But if it’s still there, you’re beginning to more clearly understand that it’s just a temporary part of your recovery, and you’re opening up to accept this.

Because of this, you’ll be feeling much more assured to continue with your recovery. Keep reminding yourself that bulimia bloat is only temporary.

•          You have learned now how important it is not to restrict your eating and continue with your tailored structured eating program. Now, maybe it’s time to re-read Step 4, and begin with your intuitive eating plan.

•          Only eating when you’re hungry. Start to use the hunger scale to guide you.

•          Slowly eat as you focus on the incredible tastes and flavors of your food.

•          Tune in to your feelings of contentment or knowing when you’ve had enough and you’re at that moderately full stage.

•          Make a list of what's been working for you and keep using your tools and techniques to support you in your recovery.

Week 7 to 3 months

•          There may still be days when you feel down and want to go back to restricting foods, but at this stage, most times, you get through it and stay focused. But your significant mood swings will have been reduced, and you’ll be experiencing more stable emotions, therefore, having less anxiety.

Maybe you can see a flicker of light in the distance as you look toward the top of your dark hole.

•          Begin to clearly see more of your old habits and spend time working with the Shatter That Habit technique from Step 7, to break these patterns.

•          Bloating should be beginning to deflate. Your metabolism will have speeded up as it feels more confident that regular food will be coming; therefore, your weight will be settling down, although the bloating may come and go over the next few months. But it will settle down.

•          Your structured eating will be so much more controllable. I'm not saying eating still isn't a struggle some days, but you’ll be feeling calmer about it.

•          As your confidence swells, your self-esteem will also grow.

•          Sleeping will be improved at this stage; as you feel calmer, the quality of sleep will be adjusting and the amount increasing.

•          Your body's temperature will return to normal.

•          Your energy may still be low but will be beginning to increase at this stage.

•          Your skin will be hydrating regularly and will be looking and feeling clearer.

•          Weighing yourself should be a distant memory. If it's not, zip back to Step 7, and refresh your memory of the importance of tossing those scales in the bin. Then tap on what’s stopping you from freeing yourself from your scale chains?

As you take back control and learn to make peace with food, the anxiety and fears will subside further.

The compulsive and negative thoughts about food and your body reduce.

What emerges is a considerable amount of space for many wonderful things like more pleasant thoughts and actions that come in to replace the negativity that has been bubbling in your cauldron.

If you’re struggling with a lack of enthusiasm at this stage, continue using the “Electrify Your Motivation” technique from Step 2, to ramp up your determination to continue along this positive pathway to freedom.

Month 4 to 6

•          There are also many helpful aspects at this stage of your recovery. For example, you’ll feel more positive thanks to the knowledge you’ve learned about restriction and how diets don’t actually work!

•          Bloating and water retention will have reduced. Your weight has evened out as your body adjusts to find its own natural setpoint.

•          You have many encouraging positive changes as you learn more about your healing, and this makes you feel encouraged! You realize that your symptoms are all part of recovery, and everybody has them.

•          Your triggers are still lurking, but your confidence to change; these continue to develop, as do your feelings and thoughts about your body image.

 •         You feel more empowered each day when you don’t give in to your eating disorder and realize that you’re actually on the stable pathway to recovery and a significant change is slowly taking place! You can now see the light clearly at the top of the dark hole.

•          Your fear of foods is continuing to reduce as you start to enjoy eating, including different foods into your structured eating program. Now is definitely the time to reread Step 4, and begin with your intuitive eating plan if you haven't already done so.

·        Your confidence will be flourishing as your social life increases.

7-8 months

•          Your dark hole is lightening as you get closer to the top.

•          Many people feel well on the way to permanent recovery, knowing what works for them and what to avoid.

•          There still will be good and bad days, but it's not only about your weight or body-related fears; you now experience normal fluctuations of emotions.

•          Your bloating and water retention may have reduced or disappeared completely.

•          Confidence with your eating patterns is still increasing, and most of the time, you can eat like a normal person. (How incredible does that feel, making that dream a reality?)

•          You become even more aware of feelings of hunger, only eating when you’re hungry, slowly eating as you focus on the incredible tastes and flavors of your food.

You tune in to your feelings of contentment or knowing that you’ve had enough and you’re at that moderately full stage and stop eating.

•          Each day, you become more confident, accepting your body the way it looks.

9-12 months

•          Oh my gosh, you’ll now be reaching the top of the dark hole, you finally feel you’re very close to recovering completely. Wahooo! You’re incredible!

•          Your urges to binge have diminished; you’re nourishing your body and in control around foods.

•          You continue to learn about your thoughts and feelings as unknown feelings are now brought to the surface, but you’ve learned how to experience them in positive ways. You no longer have that toxic leprechaun spouting his evil mutterings.

Maybe now is the time to toss him back down the hole as you watch him fall down into the abyss.

•          I'm not saying that you’ve recovered completely, but you’re feeling incredibly healthy and eating like a normal person.

You now have all the knowledge, strength, and wisdom you need to keep you on this straight clear pathway. You have that sparkle back in your eyes. You’re worthy of love and belonging, just as you are.

YOU ARE THE OTHER SIDE OR CLOSER TO THE OTHER SIDE…. I’M SO PROUD OF YOU