ED News

Grieving the Loss of the Symptom

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Tina Villalobos, MSW, LMSW Therapist As a therapist who works with people with eating disorders, I am regularly exposed to the tremendous angst and confusion people feel when wrestling with the possibility of recovery. It is no mystery that this process is a difficult one, a journey that can be fraught with back and forth, yes and no, “I guess recovery is worth it but maybe it’s not”. Patients often speak of the great cost it would be to give up their eating disorder. There is a feeling that recovery entails the loss of something dear. On the other hand, I have also talked a lot with patients about what they miss from their life without their eating disorder, what they’d hope to regain, and what they’ll …