Recovery from Eating Disorders

• What is Recovery?
• How Long Will Recovery Take?
• Recovery Stories [1]
• Carer Stories
• Speakers, Writers and Artists Bank
• For Inspiration
• How We Can Help

The term “recovery” means different things to different people, and can depend on who you speak to. At Eating Disorders Victoria, we believe recovery is a journey, not an end-point. 

Recovery involves the development of new meaning and purpose in one’s life as one moves beyond the effects of the eating disorder. It is a deeply personal, unique process of changing your attitudes, values, feelings, goals, behaviours and skills, so that you can live a satisfying, hopeful, fulfilling life, engaging as fully as possible with your family and the community.

We believe that recovery is possible - for everyone.

Recovery can be a long journey. For many people, self-help is a key part of the road to long-term recovery. Self-help can take many forms including learning to identify triggers for your eating disorder and to take actions to avoid or counteract them, reading and learning about your disorder, learning and applying coping skills, learning about ways to improve your self-esteem, attending support groups and developing a support system to rely on when necessary.

Ultimately, because recovery is a unique and personal process, everyone with an eating disorder develops their own understanding of recovery. However, certain concepts or factors are common to recovery.  Some of these are listed below.

Hope 

Having a sense of hope is the foundation for ongoing recovery from an eating disorder. Even the smallest belief that you can get better, as others have, can fuel the recovery process. 

This is the belief that you have power and control over your own life, including control over your illness. Being ready and willing to take on responsibility for your own journey towards health and well-being is a fundamental part of recovery.

Support from peers, family, friends and frequently from health professionals is highly beneficial to recovery from eating disorders. It is especially beneficial to have multiple sources of support. In addition to support from individuals, participation in support groups can be an important tool for recovery. People who are challenged by an eating disorder frequently report that being able to interact with others who understand their feelings and experiences is the most important ingredient for their recovery.

Many people with eating disorders feel isolated, cut off from former sources of support by their own actions or by the actions of others.  Some have never had much support.  If this is you, then there is great value in gradually forming even one new support – recovery isn’t dependent on having a lot of supports, rather on having good quality support. You may like to begin by reaching out to just one family member, friend or health professional - someone you feel you can open up to.  Over time you may find it possible to build up your own network of support, ready for when you need it.  

In order to maximise recovery, it is important to learn (from reliable, safe sources) as much as you can about your disorder, your symptoms, best treatment practices and available resources. It’s also important to learn about yourself, including the triggers for your eating disorder, so that your can gain better control over your illness.

There are lots of safe ways you can educate yourself - by speaking with health professionals, attending workshops and support groups, reading books, articles and newsletters, browsing the Internet for safe websites (try our Useful Links page for other websites which may be helpful) and participating in discussion groups.

NB  While the Internet can be a valuable source of information, you should be aware that some websites contain content which is unhelpful and which may even fuel your disorder, rather than aiding your recovery.  Please exercise caution when visiting websites.  If you are a child or adolescent, please seek assistance from an adult you trust in identifying appropriate websites.

Please note that EDV cannot be held responsible for the content of external websites – while links from the EDV website are provided in good faith, a link to an external website from this website does not imply endorsement of content of that external site.

Meaningful activity is a vital part of life; for many it is what gives them a sense of purpose and value. What a person does with their life will influence their confidence, self-esteem, self-worth and feelings of connectedness with the world around them.  People recover more quickly and more fully when they are able to resume school, work, higher education, family duties and/or other meaningful activity. 

Last Updated: September 2009