Hi everyone! Below is a huge list of things that have helped me along the way to improve my mental health. This is compiled from years and years of recovery and therapy so I hope you don’t feel overwhelmed by this list but that it gives you some new ideas/tools that may be helpful for you.
Remember that full recovery and freedom is possible!
Eating disorder
Getting connected with a therapist and dietitian specialized in eating disorders
Following my meal plan 100%
Attending support groups to keep myself accountable
Regularly having dessert
Eating a wide variety of foods
Knowing no foods are good or bad
Colleen Christensen’s intuitive eating affirmations
Eating my challenge foods- having someone there to eat them with me
Creating vision boards- what I wanted for my future to motivate me to recover
Self compassion
Treating myself like a friend/daughter- loving kindness
Body gratitude
Unfollowing fitness accounts/runners on instagram
Books- Goodbye Ed hello me by Jenni Schafer, Life without Ed by Jenni Schafer, Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon, Body Kindness by Rebecca Scritchfield, The Intuitive Eating Workbook by Evelyn Tribole, Sick Enough by Jennifer L. Gaudiani, Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, 8 Keys to Recovery from an Eating Disorder by Carolyn Costin
Podcasts- The Appetite a podcast by Opal Food and Body Wisdom, Girls Night by Stephanie May Wilson, Wonderfully Made
Finding Balance‘s free courses and email devotional
Ultimate training academy virtual camp
Neutral statements about my body (these are my legs, these are my arms; not labeling or judging or commenting on my body shape or size)
Self acceptance
Acceptance (I may not like this situation or be ok with it but it is what it is)
Treating my body image like Wikipedia (no offense to Wikipedia!) but seeing my personal body image as an unreliable source and not trusting it (ie. seeing myself as “too big” and recognizing that my personal body image is not a reliable source of information so discrediting the thought)
Getting rid of my scale
Blind weigh ins (facing backwards so I wouldn’t see the number)
Deleting calorie counting apps
Not counting calories
Going out to restaurants with family/friends
Taking a LONG break from running
Learning about joyful movement and intuitive movement
Buying clothes that fit
Getting rid of clothes that no longer fit
Knowing that chafing, cellulite, and stretch marks are all very normal
Taking unplanned rest days
Watching Recovered Living videos on youtube
Making a recovery contract
Faith-based
Diving deeper into my faith and developing a personal relationship with Christ
Attending Church
Joining a small group Bible study
Learning my identity in Christ
Joining a Christian organization on campus
Prayer
Reading the Bible
Surrendering my identity as having an eating disorder to the Lord
Memorizing/re-reading Bible verses
Attending retreats
Books- Present over Perfect by Shauna Niequest, Discerning the Voice of God by Priscella Shirer
Podcasts- The Porch
Knowing my worth and value are constant and infinite
OCD/Social anxiety
Learning ERP (exposure and response prevention)
Tracking bans (submits and resists)
Maybe, maybe not. Ex: Intrusive thought about an illness being on a surface; maybe I’ll get sick from touching this surface, maybe I won’t
Uncertainty tolerance
Attending free support groups at Rogers
Resisting compulsions/urges or trying to delay them
“I embrace this opportunity to face my fear, I can cope with discomfort”
Completing the LSAS (social anxiety questionnaire) and YBOCS (OCD questionnaire) every couple of months to monitor progress/slips
“I REFUSE to live in a bubble. I refuse to cut out things that I think will kill me in the future- which would eventually be everything. I refuse to spend my life trying so hard protecting myself from dying at the cost of actually living and being free.”
Generalized anxiety
Mindfulness
54321 grounding method- 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can smell, 2 things you can feel, 1 thing you can taste
Distress tolerance- STOP
Focus on my breath
Diffusion, labeling/naming the thought (I’m having a thought about…)
Depression
Setting a timer- when struggling to do something or to stop crying setting a timer for 5 or 10 minutes to feel sad then needing to get up and do something
Being with others, even if it means crying in front of them, just so you aren’t alone
Behavioral activation- forcing myself to do things that I had previously enjoyed even if I didn’t
Getting out of the house and going to do something- walk around hobby lobby, sit outside
PMDD
Creating a safety plan to maintain safety in the event of suicidal ideation (coping tools, remaining with a trusted individual, calling a clinic hotline)
Recognizing these thoughts and feelings will be over in a few days
Writing down reasons to stay alive
Learning more about PMDD
Taking an antidepressant
Decreasing my stress levels throughout the month
Self care ideas
Coloring/painting/drawing
Journal
Listen to music
Meditation
Read a book for fun
Watch a funny youtube video
Watch a show or movie on netflix
Take a long hot shower
Paint my nails
General ideas/fit under multiple categories
Daily gratitude
Celebrate each success/step in the right direction no matter how small
Take an extended break from social media
Art therapy
Attending a Living Grace Group- Christ-centered mental health recovery group
Spending time with friends/prioritizing relationships
Doing something that brings you joy each day
Realistic self talk
Getting enough sleep, listening to Abide guided Bible sleep meditations if difficult to fall asleep
Being vulnerable
Trying new things
Journaling about what I wanted my life to look like in 10 years
Embracing/welcoming feelings and experiences
Finding stillness
Improving my assertiveness
Using a feeling wheel to better identify how I’m feeling
Be myself- Fearlessly authentic
Thought challenging
Doing things alone, improving in my ability to be independent
Spending money on myself/buying myself things
Staying on campus on the weekends
When my mind is racing or I can’t decide what to do- Asking myself what is my job right now? Ex: Right now my job is to sleep or right now my job is to listen to this lecture.
Problem solving- Can I solve this? Is now the right time? If yes to both proceed, if no to one = not yet.
Being present in my life
Journal about my dreams and hopes for the future
I hope this list gives you some extra tools to help you in your journey.
With love,
Megan
Philippians 4:13– I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Psalm 55:22– Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
John 1:5- The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Isaiah 40:29– He gives strength to the weary and power to the weak.
Megan Ludke is a woman of God, Founder and Executive Director of Live RecoverED (formerly RecoverED Athletes), a school-based physical therapist, and a current PSU graduate student (M.Ed. Health Education & Promotion concentration in Eating Disorders). She is recovered from anorexia, orthorexia, depression, OCD, and social anxiety. Megan is deeply passionate about her work at Live RecoverED, having felt the pain and darkness of struggling with an eating disorder. When not working, Megan loves spending time with her boyfriend and family and loves being outside- hiking or reading in a hammock.
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