[RadaTwirl]

So, in the past, mostly in middle school, I had serious body image issues and eating problems. In recent years, my self esteem has improved significantly, but I wanted to know how everyone else deals with this kind of history and staying safe?
I haven't had any problems so far but there's always that fear that I'll allow myself to slip too much.

If this is an inappropriate topic or is in the wrong place, please forgive me as I'm a brand new member and please just let me know so I can delete it.

[Dottington]

Hi It is very difficult, but it can be done with careful planning and a good support system. I suffered from eating disorders for years and was finally sent to a treatment program 4 years ago. After treatment is when I gained all the weight. Having an eating disorder is really a life long struggle and some days are really hard. I make sure to talk a lot with loved ones about my weight loss efforts and have people who watch me closely and who aren't afraid to confront me when I start exhibiting ED behavior. I try and be very honest with my day to day feelings about my body and try not to hide anything. A few times people have had to tell me when I was falling back into habits(I've had my scale taken away before by my best friend and boyfriend). I do a lot of self monitoring and use all the advice and lessons I learned in treatment to help me stay healthy.
Have you talked with a health care professional regarding your history of ED and could they help you with staying safe? or maybe you could get a referral to a therapist who specializes with ED clients? Is your family aware of your past and do you feel comfortable asking them or friends to help monitor you?
I wish you the best of luck and hope this has been helpful! I know its really hard, but it can be done if you are careful

[Pattience]

I had a friend once who became bulimic when she was a model. When i knew her some years later she got over it. She did have emotional difficulties still but she seemed to be dealing with them quite well for the most part with yoga, about which she was very dedicated(It kept her rake thin and gave her some mental discipline) and her healthy eating. She cooked me a borscht once which i remember as delicious.

I used to work in an eating disorders clinic as the receptionist. I would say if you had bulimia you've got a good chance but if you've had anorexia it could be a much tougher haul. But you have no choice but to keep trying.

I think also that if you had it only at school, there's a good chance that you are fairly well beyond a major threat of either disorder. With these things, the longer one has the disorder the tougher its going to be to deal with it right? But the longer one is free from manifesting it, the better your chances.

I could never be either but i do binge and find that hard to eliminate from my life entirely. I think one of the keys may be to taking care of your emotional life. Get into personal growth in a big way. Learn about psychology so that you can understand your psychology better and also to pick up new tools. Mindfulness has been my latest thing, though i am not following it obsessively as i was. I have learnt and now i just notice stuff more and have a little more self-control and some better ways of managing difficult experiences.

I mean for most of us being beautiful and happy does not come easy. It takes a lot of persistence and effort. Emotional difficulties and other challenges come along and can be disruptive and cause setbacks but then you have to reset the program and start again, hopefully having learnt a bit more.