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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by missamor on December 17, 2004, at 13:11:49
this may sound crazy and i am not really planning to do it. but do any of the recovered anorexics/bulimics feel like going back to old ways? i think about it all the time. i am recovered exercise bulimic and esp lately, and i dont know why but i really miss my old, sick lifestyle. something is comforting about going back to my old ways. am i just a sicko or does everyone with an eating disorder feel this way. i know some people are so happy to get over this, but if you were not in a life threatening situation (i was not) the ED does not seem as serious. and there is something about my old lifestyle and rituals that i miss. it seems so easy to go back.
Posted by Racer on December 17, 2004, at 22:02:57
In reply to my secret plan!!, posted by missamor on December 17, 2004, at 13:11:49
I think it's common, and I think it's because those old routines are so safe. They're ritualized, so they provide a structure, and they fit in with the obsessional and compulsive elements of EDs.
But more to the point, if EDs didn't provide something we needed, we wouldn't continue with them. There are benefits to EDs, as well as drawbacks, and those benefits keep us trapped in the behaviors. Until we learn to meet those needs in other ways -- and I mean learn all the way through to our bones, so that they happen automagically -- we'll always have a pull towards the old behaviors.
At least, that's what I think. But I'm in a relapse right now, so take this with a grain of salt. I'm really, really wanting to go back, and scared to death of going forward, despite a treatment team working as well as they can. Maybe I want to believe that everyone wants to go back, because it helps me live with my desire to stay in place?
Posted by Maxime on January 1, 2005, at 20:05:08
In reply to my secret plan!!, posted by missamor on December 17, 2004, at 13:11:49
Hey - No, you are not crazy or a sicko. I believe that once a person has an ED that they are like an alcoholic. They can stop the behaviours and if they are lucky all the negative thoughts. But it's still there in some form. If you were to find yourself in a very stressful life situation it's possible that you could relapse. I think relapsing is always possible. And exercise bulimia (that is what they call it now) is DANGEROUS. You place a tremendous amount of stress on your bones and body. You are at risk for stress fractures etc. And your body fat does decrease and you lose weight and you exercise until you can barely move anymore. So it's dangerous. I hope you will be able to fight any thoughts re. going back to your old ways. You worked hard to recover! Stay healthy!
Maxime
> this may sound crazy and i am not really planning to do it. but do any of the recovered anorexics/bulimics feel like going back to old ways? i think about it all the time. i am recovered exercise bulimic and esp lately, and i dont know why but i really miss my old, sick lifestyle. something is comforting about going back to my old ways. am i just a sicko or does everyone with an eating disorder feel this way. i know some people are so happy to get over this, but if you were not in a life threatening situation (i was not) the ED does not seem as serious. and there is something about my old lifestyle and rituals that i miss. it seems so easy to go back.
>
This is the end of the thread.
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