I am now in ed recovery and just sitting on the couch and eating allll day... The highest calorie foods you can find, one after the other. There is nothing else I'd like to do, either... Which makes me worried this has become my sole hobby. I haven't had any interests or hobbies for years, next to eating, exercising and watching videos about body, weight, food and recovery. Is that normal? I am worried I am just a person who doesn't have any interests. It has been so long. When I was a child, I loved to draw or read a book, and now activities like these just feel like things I need to ''perform'' in, instead of just enjoying it.
I felt exactly the same as you and still continue to do so even though I'd say I'm almost fully recovered (a few lingering habits or thought patterns around my body that I'm working to get rid of). I also happen to be a personal trainer, yoga teacher and mobility specialist - so I feel like I genuinely love movement but I often worry where my other interests will be. I have always been a reader and continue to enjoy that, but most of my interests are active. I think right now your main hobby should be eating and resting. That's what I did when I took my recovery seriously for the first time. I watched loads of TV and ate. Allow yourself time to heal and then see what your brain finds interesting again once it's fully fed and stops making everything about food. You got this!
Oh my goodness Melody you are SO not alone in this. Not at all. When I was in recovery I would have resonated with every word you've voiced here and I can still remember now how scary and overwhelming living through that was. Please know that you are 1000% not alone and that actually, your body and brain being singularly focussed on recovery (and more specifically... eating) at this moment, is actually the most normal, natural and healthful thing that your body could do. I will 100% add this topic to my list of videos to make because it really is SUCH a shared experience but just know, as someone who has been there, and come out the other side, that your authentic energy and interest in things outside the narrow bandwidth of ED/recovery is not lost forever, it is just on a shelf at the moment whilst your body deals with the survival based matter of re-feeding and recovering. Sending you lots of love xx
OMGGGG Im going through the exact same, minus the actual eating part. I also feel like I'll just be bored and purposeless! I have no other interests apart from recovery
finding hobbies is super important in recovery. otherwise, if all we think about is ed recovery, our entire lives are still just thinking about our eating disorder. it gives you motivation to live a full life. my hobbies have saved me from getting too severe into my eating disorder many times. like i LOVE martial arts, have for years, but when my ed gets too severe, i’m physically too weak to do it. i love to write, but when i’m starved my brain is too foggy to put pen to paper. i recommend hobbies you can do while resting. reading, writing, art, journaling, knitting, crocheting, legos, puzzles, hell even video games! as you get further in recovery, you’ll likely find you have more interest in life, more energy for things you enjoy, more mental clarity and attention. it’s very helpful for me to get motivation to recover as i see what life can be like when i’m nourished and don’t only think about my ed. relapse becomes less desirable when i see what my life can be like if i continue with recovery. while exploring hobbies, though, give yourself grace on the days where you don’t feel like doing anything except eating and resting. those days happen.
I'm so bored I'm eating for hours and don't know how to stop since I don't know how to make time pass otherwise. Any tips on what to do to stop this? It gives me so much stomach distress.
The only way out is thru the stomach unfortunately. I relapsed and am going through the same thing again but at a higher weight. Watching movies , talking to friends, baths, spoiling yourself when you can that helps me :)
@@Dad.Daughter.Healing so you mean it will stop/get better by doing this? That is will solve itself just by eating the whole day for hours? I feel like I have developed a really disordered ritual
@@thealiceftw yes it always does, but the minute you restrict again before a full recovery, extreme hunger can kick in at any point. I have had small relapses during the 4 years of my recovery, and it takes a lot of energy to get back to "normal". Therefore, I know I'm healing still.
@@Dad.Daughter.Healing I’m not even eating because I want food or am hungry. I just do it as an “activity” to make time pass. I literally don’t know what to do other than eat. Food isn’t even good anymore and since I’m eating all the time, I also damage my teeth and stomach. I don’t think this is healthy what I’m doing. If it was because I actually wanted the food or was hungry, it would be something else. But this… this is just out of boredom.
I am now in ed recovery and just sitting on the couch and eating allll day... The highest calorie foods you can find, one after the other. There is nothing else I'd like to do, either... Which makes me worried this has become my sole hobby. I haven't had any interests or hobbies for years, next to eating, exercising and watching videos about body, weight, food and recovery. Is that normal? I am worried I am just a person who doesn't have any interests. It has been so long. When I was a child, I loved to draw or read a book, and now activities like these just feel like things I need to ''perform'' in, instead of just enjoying it.
I felt exactly the same as you and still continue to do so even though I'd say I'm almost fully recovered (a few lingering habits or thought patterns around my body that I'm working to get rid of). I also happen to be a personal trainer, yoga teacher and mobility specialist - so I feel like I genuinely love movement but I often worry where my other interests will be. I have always been a reader and continue to enjoy that, but most of my interests are active. I think right now your main hobby should be eating and resting. That's what I did when I took my recovery seriously for the first time. I watched loads of TV and ate. Allow yourself time to heal and then see what your brain finds interesting again once it's fully fed and stops making everything about food. You got this!
this is 100000% me omg.
I guess it's "maslow's hierarchy of needs" - we can't find more purpose in life before our physical needs are met!
Oh my goodness Melody you are SO not alone in this. Not at all. When I was in recovery I would have resonated with every word you've voiced here and I can still remember now how scary and overwhelming living through that was. Please know that you are 1000% not alone and that actually, your body and brain being singularly focussed on recovery (and more specifically... eating) at this moment, is actually the most normal, natural and healthful thing that your body could do. I will 100% add this topic to my list of videos to make because it really is SUCH a shared experience but just know, as someone who has been there, and come out the other side, that your authentic energy and interest in things outside the narrow bandwidth of ED/recovery is not lost forever, it is just on a shelf at the moment whilst your body deals with the survival based matter of re-feeding and recovering. Sending you lots of love xx
OMGGGG Im going through the exact same, minus the actual eating part. I also feel like I'll just be bored and purposeless! I have no other interests apart from recovery
finding hobbies is super important in recovery. otherwise, if all we think about is ed recovery, our entire lives are still just thinking about our eating disorder. it gives you motivation to live a full life. my hobbies have saved me from getting too severe into my eating disorder many times. like i LOVE martial arts, have for years, but when my ed gets too severe, i’m physically too weak to do it. i love to write, but when i’m starved my brain is too foggy to put pen to paper. i recommend hobbies you can do while resting. reading, writing, art, journaling, knitting, crocheting, legos, puzzles, hell even video games! as you get further in recovery, you’ll likely find you have more interest in life, more energy for things you enjoy, more mental clarity and attention. it’s very helpful for me to get motivation to recover as i see what life can be like when i’m nourished and don’t only think about my ed. relapse becomes less desirable when i see what my life can be like if i continue with recovery. while exploring hobbies, though, give yourself grace on the days where you don’t feel like doing anything except eating and resting. those days happen.
I'm so bored I'm eating for hours and don't know how to stop since I don't know how to make time pass otherwise. Any tips on what to do to stop this? It gives me so much stomach distress.
The only way out is thru the stomach unfortunately. I relapsed and am going through the same thing again but at a higher weight. Watching movies , talking to friends, baths, spoiling yourself when you can that helps me :)
@@Dad.Daughter.Healing so you mean it will stop/get better by doing this? That is will solve itself just by eating the whole day for hours? I feel like I have developed a really disordered ritual
@@thealiceftw yes it always does, but the minute you restrict again before a full recovery, extreme hunger can kick in at any point. I have had small relapses during the 4 years of my recovery, and it takes a lot of energy to get back to "normal". Therefore, I know I'm healing still.
@@thealiceftw if you are always eating it means your body is needing it. 🤗
@@Dad.Daughter.Healing I’m not even eating because I want food or am hungry. I just do it as an “activity” to make time pass. I literally don’t know what to do other than eat. Food isn’t even good anymore and since I’m eating all the time, I also damage my teeth and stomach. I don’t think this is healthy what I’m doing. If it was because I actually wanted the food or was hungry, it would be something else. But this… this is just out of boredom.