Finding effective treatment for eating disorders can be difficult.While therapy and medical treatment are essential to recovery, you may wish to continue therapeutically treating your eating disorder outside of appointments on your own.Journaling is a great way to process and work through difficult emotions.You can have it supervised by a therapist, or you can discuss it with your therapist.Journaling is a good way to increase self-awareness and manage emotions.
Step 1: You can learn how to journal.
While many diaries or journals serve the purpose of documenting certain events from your own point of view, therapeutic journaling can include approaches from lots of different perspectives, dialoguing with yourself, exploring your thoughts and feelings, and drawing and doodling.There is a lot of reflection and intention included in therapeutic journaling.Journaling can be helpful.It is possible to sort out your emotions, track your behaviors and give you a sense of relief.Journaling can help you solve problems and improve your health.Write about how certain situations affect you instead of writing about what you did.You should write about positive and negative experiences.If you had a good experience at a restaurant, write about it in a journal.You can write about how you deal with your fears of ordering at a restaurant.
Step 2: Start writing things down.
Set aside time to journal.You can either set an alarm to remind you to journal, or set a timer for the duration of your journal.It's important that your journal becomes a part of every day.You can either write your journal on paper or online.Make sure it's easy to keep up with.A pen is a must if you use a paper journal.
Step 3: Take a break from your inner critic.
Don't worry about how it sounds when you're writing.This is your chance to express yourself.It's possible to connect with the purest part of you and write from that point of view.If you notice that you are becoming critical of yourself, gently remind yourself that this is a time for you to express yourself and not criticize yourself.
Step 4: Track your feelings and symptoms.
Track your emotions and symptoms in a journal.If you have a daily/weekly/monthly/yearly tracker, you can pick up on when you may be vulnerable to relapse, what situations bring you stress, and if you turn to food or to your eating disorder.If you find out that you are vulnerable to feeling worried about your body around your period or that when you work overtime, you start to cope with food, that's a possibility.Track the things that are relevant to you.You can decide to track your mood each day or when you want to restrict or binge eat.
Step 5: Go back and read older entries.
To see your progress and look for patterns, is part of the reflection process.Reread your previous entries to see how far you have come.When you read your journals again, you may have started a series of entries you forgot about, or decided to go back to an old style of writing.Go through your journal every month and read your entries in the same day or week.
Step 6: Meet with a doctor.
If you want to properly track and monitor your nutrition, you should work with a dietician.Your dietician will help you figure out how much to eat each day.Maintaining proper nutrition and making adjustments to your diet can be helped by your dietician.A log can be given to you by your dietitian.There are also online resources that you can download.
Step 7: You can record the time and location.
You should indicate where you eat each meal.You should be specific about your location.For instance, instead of writing " home" or "out", you should write "home" at the table or on the couch.It's possible to be as specific as possible.Your entry may look like this.The sun is setting at 11:26 AM.Home is at the table.
Step 8: Write down what you ate.
Aim to eat a certain amount of food each day.If you want to know what food group you are fulfilling, you can record your food intake.You may be told by your dietician to have two serving of fruit each day.Instead of counting calories, mark off each serving after you've eaten it.Your entry might look like this:Smoothie, full serving of bananas and strawberries, soy milk.Then check off food groups.Water, coffee, tea, and alcohol should be written down.
Step 9: You should record your hunger and satiety.
You can record your hunger level before you eat.You can assign a number to the hunger level.A zero, a five, and a 10 are indicative of feeling empty, neutral, or full.The same scale is used to record satiety after a meal.For every meal, record your hunger and satiety.
Step 10: You can write your feelings down.
Before, during, and after meals, write your feelings down.This can help you understand your eating behaviors.If you tend to over eat, it's a good idea to notice if you eat more after a meeting or an exam.If you restrict, notice how your feelings affect your desire to restrict.If you want to find patterns, you need to write down a brief background of what is happening before, during or after meals.You can write about having a fight with a friend or feeling lonely.
Step 11: Do you binge, restrict, or purge?
Write down your food behaviors in your journal.If you purge after a meal, you should note the time on your food log.Write this down if you binge drink.Write this in your journal if you restrict.If you purge, make a note of your method.It is possible to write "V" and "L" for vomit and laxatives.
Step 12: Track your workouts.
Track your exercise with your journal.You can record your activity, intensity, and duration.Your journal is a good place to keep a record of any changes to activity and exercise that are related to your eating disorder and stress.You should be honest about your behavior.When you binge, purge, restrict, etc., you may be tempted to skip recording, but this defeats the purpose of the journal and makes the diary less effective.
Step 13: It's a good idea to practice before and after an exercise.
If you're struggling with an eating disorder, you should practice this exercise.Write down the sensations you are feeling, and the thoughts that are running through your head.Write a pre-emptive scenario after you finish that.What is a better response?What are some more positive thoughts?What reaction would benefit you more?A fight with a friend, a test at school, or your weight are examples of situations.You're stressed out over a fight with your boyfriend.Write down the physical sensations you are feeling, such as a sick stomach, heavy legs, or hot or numb arms.Write those sensations down.Write down the thoughts that are in your head.I hate him, he's probably going to break up with me.I'm going to eat that box of cookies because he's such a jerk.Look at how you are reacting to something.Did you insult your boyfriend?Did you break something?Imagine a more productive and healthy way to deal with stress.How can you counteract your physical reaction?How can you change those negative thoughts?Maybe it was my boyfriend who misinterpreted what I was trying to say.I'm going to think of a different way to explain myself to him.What is a better way to respond?Maybe you can say, "I need a break" instead of screaming.Take yourself out of the situation and talk about it later.
Step 14: Write something to yourself.
Write a one word representation of what is bothering you when you experience stress.Write something that will help you keep perspective.Write what you can do to make yourself feel better about the situation.The previous example had one word: "friend."This may be the name of a place or an emotion.You might wish to say that relationships are sometimes difficult, but also loving.Even though you have difficulties with people or yourself, be reassured that you are loved.Think about the people that love you, from your dog to your grandma."I may get in fights with my boyfriend sometimes, but everyone struggles with relationships."Even if things don't work out with him, there are a lot of people who care for me.
Step 15: Take a look at various viewpoints.
If you want to write from the perspective of other people, try writing in your journal.If you are struggling with body image or weight, you can write a journal entry from the perspective of a medical doctor, psychologist, or family member.This can help you understand different perspectives.Don't become too judgmental in these journal entries.If you think your mother or medical doctor would say a negative thing to you, remind yourself that this is an exercise to explore different viewpoints.
Step 16: Take a photograph.
Take a photograph and journal about them.What memories do you have of the photo, and how are you feeling looking at it?What do you want the people in the photo to know?What would they like to say to you?If it is a photo of someone who is no longer part of your life, this can be helpful.There are many people with eating disorders.The photographs can be used to reflect on your family life.Take a picture of yourself before you had an eating disorder.What was life like then?What makes you happy?
Step 17: A letter should be written.
You might want to write a letter to someone.You can either write a letter to your past self or your future self.You can write the things you wish you could say, but you can't because you're not allowed to.Say the things you wish someone would have told you when you were younger.
Step 18: Things should be kept in perspective.
If you're in the middle of it, you can't evaluate it clearly.You should remind yourself that emotions are fleeting.Go to your journal if you feel an urge.A positive journal entry will recount a happy, relaxed, or calm experience.Just as you feel sad, angry, frustrated or upset now, you will feel happy, calm, relaxed and balanced.Write down your emotions and experience as you see them.You can do the exercise from three different perspectives: the view of someone you know well, an acquaintances and someone who makes you uncomfortable.This can help you see that your thoughts and feelings are not the same as the right one.
Step 19: Define your thoughts.
You can gain control of your emotions by naming them and exploring them.Think about what emotion is behind your feelings about body image or weight.You could feel guilt, shame or embarrassment.Write about how you interact with that emotion.Do you feel it in your body?When you think of shame orguilt, what thoughts or memories come to mind?Be aware of each emotion.It is possible to identify and intervene sooner if you increase your awareness of emotions.What color is the emotion?What does it smell like?What are its friends like?What type of weather is it?
Step 20: Negative feelings can be turned into energy.
You may feel a surge of energy if you feel negative.If you can divert that energy into something creative, that will make you feel better.Write a story, approach your emotions in a different way, or use your journal to do that.If you want to channel the negative emotions into something productive that adds to your life, try to approach them from a positive place.Go to your journal if you are angry with yourself for binge eating.The negative feelings can be turned into a story or poem.How do you feel when you do this?Anger can help you make changes.
Step 21: You can turn your trauma into a story.
Many people with eating disorders have experienced trauma in their lives.Write about the trauma in your journal.Research shows that turning trauma into a story can help you cope with the feelings and make a complex subject simpler.It's important to note that sometimes the healing won't happen right away; you may feel a surge of strong emotions when you begin.Pay particular attention to the feelings and emotions associated with the trauma and write about it.Romantic relationships, family relationships and closeness with friends are some of the aspects of your life that have been affected by trauma.When you know you won't be disturbed, set aside 30 minutes for several days in a row.