Friends can be a great support when trying to recover from your eating disorder, if they themselves are in a healthy place. If not, they will bring all kinds of unhealthy behaviors and statements that may trigger your own recovery.
What to do? You want to be there for them like they were for you when you were beginning your recovery.
Sometimes we have to make hard choices to protect our hard work in recovery.
How to handle it:
1, Tell your friend how conversations are triggering you and as much as you want to be there for them; you’ll need to pull back for a little while to protect your own recovery.
2. Try explaining what kind of talk triggers you and give your friend a chance to change her talk with you.
3. Look for other people who encourage your recovery.
4. If you have no one personally, get a therapist.
5. Go back to the behaviors that led to your recovery. Such as:
- Reading
- Journaling
- Exercise
- Meditation
- Counseling
- Anything else that was helpful for you.
Don’t ever let anyone undo the hard work you’ve done to recover and feel good about yourself! : )