If someone is in this stage of asking what you can do with yourself, one is already half way to recovery. It is important to be clear about your ideal body size and weight. It may be that you are having difficulty in judging your body size. When one has the correct judgment about herself, it becomes easier to solve notions concerning one’s body weight and size (Judith, 2002).
The second step is that one needs to open up to someone she trusts. Talk with a counselor or a guide about eating problems that are facing you. Having negotiated acceptable limits to your weight and shape, you need to negotiate an exercise plan. This sounds easy but sticking to may be difficult. It is advisable for young women to maintain a regular diary of eating, thoughts and feelings (Nitcher, 2000). This will help one to be consistent on her feeding habits.
If one has been fasting, it is advisable that she needs to start eating small portions of easily digestible foods until her system learns to cope with her new status (Nitcher, 2000).
Incase the symptoms persists, one can seek the advice of a doctor. One can be admitted to a hospital until recovery. One can also engage herself in dance and movements that will help her feel more connected and happier about her body size and weight, hence forgetting the notion that media has passed in the brains of many people citing that one has to have a certain size and shape so as to become accepted in a certain class (Gotlieb, 2000).
There should be promotion of healthy girls’ images on the media. It is not advisable to allow the media to define the way that one ought to look (Nitcher, 2000). Believe that you are simply the best in the hands of your Maker. One can only be herself. Each woman is unique in her own way.
Fifty percent of patients with eating disorders are bothered so much by the thought of food (Judith, 2002). They do not see the negative effects of their disorders. They only think of one thing, satisfying themselves. Most of them tend to suffer silently. It is important that one should not only take a new diet to improve on her health. One can also modify what she takes to be of better use to her body but one can seek medical attention incase the symptoms are severe.
One does not necessarily have to start with an impatient treatment. The first step for those who are medically unstable is a 21-day hospitalization (Nitcher, 2000). After initial hospitalization, the patient can move into partial five week hospitalization program which offers 8 hours treatment a day for 20 days (Nitcher, 2000). The patient can then move into an intensive outpatient program. When the patient leave more intensive programs they may struggle, hence should be “weaning the patient off of treatment” to avoid a relapse (Nitcher, 2000).
If one is suffering from eating disorders it is not the end of life. One can still resume back to the normal body weight and size because of the many treatment programs that offer help to families (Francis, 1995). Encouragement from parents and concerned people is also important for these young women with eating disorders.
The first part to being the solution to one’s problems as a young woman is by helping herself. If one is concerned about her own eating habits, she should tell to someone she trusts. This will help one to go over the problem mentally. If one thinks that a friend of hers has an eating disorder, it is important to bring it to their attention. Talk to them in privacy since no one wants to become the ‘laughing stock of the town’. Try to get your friends to express your feelings to them. If one has friends who are recovering from eating disorders, avoid telling them how they look since this will make them to feel unworthy.
Try and look for occasions when you can eat together with her, but avoid dwelling much on their eating habits. Encourage them to have fun activities. In each fun activity, try new foods together. This will help them to cope with the problem and appreciate themselves (Francis, 1995). Since this is a problem that mostly affects young women and not men, the women should come up together and share their experiences with each other. This will help them to appreciate themselves and to enable them to live a happy life (Judith, 2002).
Eating disorders afflict millions of people. Thousands will die each year from eating disorder complications. There is good news though, eating disorders can be beaten. One does not have to be a prisoner like this any more. She has the power within herself to beat this.
Recovery takes a lot of time and hard work but in the end, it is worth it (Gaesser, 1996). The recovery process may take a long time and it may not be easy. Every one is different and everyone will recover at her own phase. Acceptance is the best solution (Gaesser, 1996. Recovery is difficult, but then again, so is leaving with the disorder.
One can make two decisions that can change her life. One can both choose to hold on to the eating disorder or one can make the wisest decision to let go of the eating disorder fight it daily, and receive help/treatment. This choice is absolutely the best. She might continually feel bad but eventually things will be brighter for her. Recovery process may be very difficult but it is worth it (Gotlieb, 2000).
Work Cited
Gaesser, Glenn. Big Fat Lies: The Truth about Your Weight and Your Health. New York: Ballantine, 1996.
Gottlieb, Lori. Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000.
Berg, Francis. Health Risks of Weight Loss. Hettinger, ND: Healthy Weight Journal, 1995.
Nichter, Mimi. Fat Talk: What Girls and Their Parents Say about Dieting. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2000.
Phillips, Jan, Conheim, Cathy, and Forester, Christine. A Waist is a Terrible Thing to Mind. La Jolla, CA: Breakthrough Press, 2000.
Siegel, Michelle, Brisman, Judith, and Weinshel, Margot. Surviving an Eating Disorder: Strategies for Family and Friends. NY: Harper and Row, 1988.