It is important when in recovery to identify negative thoughts. When you start to do this it will help you break the links between dysfunctional attitudes and negative feelings. For example Sophie was in early recovery and was struggling to increase the number of daily calories she was taking. She knew on a conscious level that this would get her closer to her expected weight for her height, but the irrational pat of her mind bombarded her with thoughts such as “I’ve eaten too much”, “I feel so bloated”, I am getting fat now and everyone will see it”, “I look huge in these jeans now”. In her work with her therapist she identified that these thoughts were demotivating her and she was reverting to the old patterns of skipping meals. With the support of her therapist and her boyfriend she began to question the validity of these thoughts and look for healthier ways of dealing with them. This had the added effect of lifting her mood and increasing her motivation for change.

Some typical negative eating disorder thinking:

I was miserable when I was overweight so if I gain weight I will feel horrible again.

I can’t eat carbohydrates; they bloat me and make me fat.

If I gain a pound in weight I will carry on gaining and won’t be able to stop.

I can never eat chocolate again.

I can’t eat in public because people are watching me and will think I am a glutton.

If I eat anything with fat in it, it will turn immediately to fat on my hips.

So what if I lost 2 pounds this week I should have lost six by now.

I weighed myself and I have put on 2 pounds I’m not eating again for 2 days.

I have completely messed up my diet after eating that Chinese; I might as well just forget about it and keep eating now.

Watch out for the “Shoulds”! When you are using the word should it can mean you are being harsh and critical of yourself, it is one of the most common words people with low self esteem use. “I should be keeping to my diet”, “ I should be thinner”, “ I should be doing more exercise”.

Dealing with Negative Thoughts: A good way of learning to deal with negative thoughts is to make a list of the thoughts you are getting in a diary on a daily basis. Put a column in for:

The situation you were in (what, where, with whom);

The automatic thought and the feeling that went with it;

A more reasonable, less harsh response.

The outcome (Did it make a difference? how do you feel now?)

Tags: Recovery

John Crimmins