I'm Struggling

by Susanna
(Florida)

Hi Stefanie,

My name is Susanna and I am currently 20 years old. I have been struggling with binge eating since the beginning of high-school. I was diagnosed with severe depression in the summer before my sophomore year. I began to use eating more than ever to fill that emptiness, I guess, I felt inside of me. However, I gained a lot of weight and soon felt very insecure about myself, causing me to become more depressed.

But now, I've been doing a ton better for the past 3 months. However, I still have an ever present fear that I will abandon all the progress I've made and turn back to binge eating. I have nightmares about it all the time, and am scared I am going to fall back into it without my wanting to.

Do you have any advice for me?

ANSWER

Susanna,

It sounds like you are doing VERY well.

I can understand your fear about turning back to binge eating. Usually when someone has successfully left binge eating behind... there tends to be a 'relapse' of sorts.

Let me ask you...

If you were to binge or overeat does that mean that you have to start at square one?

Does it mean you have to embrace binge eating again?

If you do end up regressing and binge... what does that really mean?

I would suggest that it can mean nothing if you choose.

If you use any sort of coping skill for an extended period of time... it is not uncommon to revisit it again.

What really defines a slip up is what you do with it. Do you let it spiral you out of control (with all or nothing thinking) or do you learn from it and see how you can improve your new coping skills?

I would also suggest taking some time daily to envision yourself without binge eating and how good it feels. You may even want to create some afformations that you use each day. This will help you get a very clear picture of what your life can be like.

I think that you are more powerful than you realize. Yes, you may have doubts and fears... but you can face them. And odds are you will come out the other side much more confident in who you really are.

All my Best,

Stefanie