Recovery Stories & Eating Disorders – Do They Help?

Contributed by Canopy Cove

Stories have helped to make our large and densely populated world smaller. Through them, we enter different time periods, explore new and foreign cultures, and expand our understanding of the human experience.

Whether we are looking for comedy, tragedy, adventure, or inspiration, hearing the stories of others – their lives, their experiences, their homes, their families, their struggles, and their victories – help us in our own journeys.

For this reason, books, articles, videos, and social media accounts abound with people sharing their own eating disorder recovery stories.

Many clinicians are finding ways to use these stories as tools in the treatment of eating disorders, but others are unsure that they pose any real, measurable, benefit to recovery.

Let’s examine the potential benefits and drawbacks of eating disorder recovery stories.

A Battle You Can See Yourself Winning

A lot of research has been conducted on eating disorder pathology and effective treatments. As wonderful as these scholarly studies and treatment methods are, they are often in a language that the average person cannot understand.

This is where hearing the recovery stories of others can be hugely beneficial – you learn about the trials that others experienced and overcame in a language that you can understand.

Instead of being confused by medical and psychiatric jargon, you identify with what is being shared.

You can see yourself in these stories. Not only can you identify with an individual’s struggle, but you may also identify with their triumphs.

Studies show that ambivalence about recovery is a significant barrier to achieving it [1]. Simply put, people doubt that recovery is possible.

What better news to hear, as you’re battling a formidable disorder that threatens to take your life, than that you are not destined to lose?!

That there is a light at the end of the tunnel that will lead you to a happier, healthier, life free from disordered eating and self-loathing.

And that there are people at the end of the tunnel that are waiting for you.

Many Paths from Illness to Wellness

Eating Disorder Recovery stories not only provide hope for recovery, but they also involve in-depth sharing of the many ways recovery can be achieved.

Stories of struggle and triumph shine a light on the process of recovery so that individuals know what to expect and how to overcome the common challenges that arise in overcoming an eating disorder.

Recovery looks different for every individual and sharing the vast diversity in recovery stories allows more opportunities for people to find an experience similar to theirs.

These stories can also be used as resources, showing an individual how to get help funding treatment, where to go for online support or inspiration, or how to move forward from a relapse.

The Strength of Understanding

Recovery stories shared by those that have been there before and come out on the other side also often hold more clout for individuals suffering. When an individual has been where you have been, their words carry more weight.

This is particularly true because many individuals with eating disorders are skeptical to believe there is hope, therefore, messages of empowerment, optimism, and understanding from those that have been there carry more weight than clinical insight from healthcare professionals.

The Flip-Side of the Coin

Unfortunately, the main benefit of recovery stories providing information and inspiration on how to overcome an eating disorder can also be harmful.

There is a phenomenon in many realms of mental illness, and particularly eating disorders, known as “peer contagion,” which involves the social learning process working against the good of an individual.

Aspects of social interaction that can help individuals create bonds, support one another, and succeed in life become distorted into imitating and identifying with harmful behaviors instead of helpful behaviors.

Recovery stories, too, can become distorted and trigger an individual’s disordered eating. Instead of inspiring healthy, recovery-based behaviors it can encourage continued disordered behaviors.

In fact, there are a sad number of “pro-anorexia” sites that use this to their advantage – sharing stories on how to hide or “perfect” an eating disorder.

Despite this, individuals often begin going to these sites for the community aspect of it all, wanting to engage with other people that have similar experiences and struggles.

Additionally, even though these stories can help individuals feel less alone, they can also feel isolating or make an individual feel insecure depending on where they are in their illness.

For example, stories of people harnessing their strength and courage or finding their purpose outside of their eating disorder may be difficult to hear for someone that wants to do the same so terribly but cannot seem to find their way. They frequently wonder “Is recovery from an eating disorder is even possible?”.

The Science of It All

What poses an effective treatment strategy is rarely left up to opinion because you can be sure that, if a method is becoming a trend in recovery circles, its potential effectiveness will be studied.

The same is true for the use of recovery stories in eating disorder treatment.

A 2018 study published in the Journal of Eating Disorders looked at how individuals felt about these stories as well as “the efficacy of recovery narratives as a means of improving motivation and self-efficacy [2].”

This online study involved fifty-seven women and found that “reading stories of recovery had no effect on motivation and self-efficacy over a two-week period [2].”

Despite this, the study also found that reading these recovery stories did support participants generating thoughts about “the possibility of recovery.”

The majority of participants recommended others read recovery stories and that they helped them to feel more understood and less alone.

The Bottom Line of Eating Disorder Recovery Stories

The truth is, recovery stories and the desire for social support and interaction that is behind them can be used for good or evil.

So can all stories of struggle, triumph, and shared experience.

If you choose to use recovery stories to assist in your recovery, it is best to find them from trusted recovery sites such as EatingDisorderHope.com and to process them with your support or treatment team.

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Resources:

[1] Vitousek, K. et al. (1998). Enhancing motivation for change in treatment resistant eating disorders. Clinical Psychological Review, 18:391, 391-420.

[2] Dawson, L. et al. (2018). Are recovery stories helpful for women with eating disorder? a pilot study and commentary on future research. Journal of Eating Disorders, 6:21.

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About Our Sponsor:

Canopy Cove Eating Disorder Treatment Center is a leading residential Eating Disorder Treatment Center with 25 years’ experience treating adults and teens who are seeking lasting recovery from Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating Disorder and other related eating disorders.

We are a licensed rehabilitative provider accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. Trusted and recommended by doctors and therapists throughout the country, our program provides clients with clinical excellence and compassionate care.

As one of the most experienced Eating Disorder Centers in the nation, we’ve developed a highly effective program that incorporates solid evidence-based therapies which have been shown to increase recovery rates.

• Each person we treat receives a customized treatment plan tailored to their specific needs.
• We increase recovery rates by simultaneously treating co-existing conditions such as anxiety, depression. (We also accept clients with an Eating Disorder and co-existing Diabetes).
• We provide family education and family therapy throughout the recovery process. (Offered by phone for out of town families).
  Our Christian-based eating disorder treatment program warmly accepts all clients from various belief systems.

Get help now. Call 855-338-8620.
www.canopycove.com
[email protected]

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About the Author: 

Margot Rittenhouse, MS, PLPC, NCC is a therapist who is passionate about providing mental health support to all in need and has worked with clients with substance abuse issues, eating disorders, domestic violence victims, and offenders, and severely mentally ill youth.

As a freelance writer for Eating Disorder Hope and Addiction Hope and a mentor with MentorConnect, Margot is a passionate eating disorder advocate, committed to de-stigmatizing these illnesses while showing support for those struggling through mentoring, writing, and volunteering. Margot has a Master’s of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Johns Hopkins University.

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The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer a discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.

We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Published on November 19, 2018.
Reviewed & Approved on November 19, 2018, by Jacquelyn Ekern MS, LPC

Published on EatingDisorderHope.com