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Having Hope with Anorexia: Encouragement for Sufferers, Family & Loved Ones – Part 3
Creating a Plan for Hope in Eating Disorder Treatment
Today I am even more convinced of the whole person approach providing hope in eating disorder treatment.
For some, this may mean the realization that there are some issues in digestion or brain chemistry or body chemistry. Perhaps they have some unmet needs. Maybe they have taken on the identity of anorexia, and they need help moving to a healing and recovery identity.
One important thing to look at is, “what is my plan for hope?” Consider this as it relates back to the whole person.
How do I make a plan for hope for my family, my physical well-being, my emotional well-being, my relationship, spiritual faith, my future? It is also important to realize that where you are now does not have to define your future.
Too often, we lose hope, and we stay in a desperate and dark place, no longer able to see a positive future for ourselves. At times, our family falls into this, too and can no longer see a positive future for us. They look at us and don’t know what to do because there has been so much struggle.
Sometimes, even as clinicians, we can lose that hope because we may feel like nobody is getting better and everyone is getting worse. We have all got to create a plan for hope, and that plan is always evolving. It is about continually readjusting and making the decision to live a life of recovery.
I have even had clients that have bought a thousand-piece puzzle and used each piece to represent an issue or area of struggle. I had one client that labeled the back of every piece of the puzzle as a part of their recovery.
Sometimes, when putting together a thousand-piece puzzle, those last few pieces are the most difficult. You think “I’m getting closer”, but until you get them all, it can be a struggle.
Now, hope is complicated. It is nothing that we feel and, instead, is something that comes when we keep building a plan. So, look at all of the “why not’s” in your life.
We don’t look at “why not’s” as a magical solution but as those things that can be brought together to help complete a puzzle.
I once worked with a gal that said, “I don’t need to read your books, I’ve read them all,” and I said, “well, what if there was just one sentence or phrase that was helpful in just one of the things I’ve written.
She read my book “Hope, Help, & Healing for Eating Disorders” and actually threw the book at me when she finished because she didn’t find the “one” sentence.
I told her to go back and look again and find that one sentence that speaks to her out of all of those pages.
She found the sentence, “you have a hope and future” and that had some meaning to her. She said, ‘I don’t know why, but it is the only thing in your book, of all those 12 chapters that speaks to me.”
It all boils down to that, finding that one small thing that makes a difference to you, that gives you hope.
Please See:
Having Hope with Anorexia: Encouragement for Sufferers, Family & Loved Ones – Part 1
Having Hope with Anorexia: Encouragement for Sufferers, Family & Loved Ones – Part 2
Source:
Virtual Presentation by Dr. Gregory Jantz in the May 17, 2018, Eating Disorder Hope Online Conference II: Anorexia Hope & Healing in 2018.
Please view the press release Here.
Author:
Dr. Gregory Jantz is the founder of “The Center – A Place of HOPE” in Edmonds, Washington, voted a top ten facility for the treatment of depression in the United States. Dr. Jantz pioneered Whole Person Care in the 1980’s and is a world-renowned expert on eating disorders, depression, anxiety, technology addiction, and abuse. He is a leading voice and innovator in Mental Health utilizing a variety of therapies including nutrition, sleep therapy, spiritual counseling, and advanced DBT techniques. Dr. Jantz is a best-selling author of 37 books and has appeared on CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, and CNN.
About the Transcript Editor: Margot Rittenhouse 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 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.
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 September 18, 2018.
Reviewed & Approved on September 18, 2018, by Jacquelyn Ekern MS, LPC
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com
The EatingDisorderHope.com editorial team comprises experienced writers, editors, and medical reviewers specializing in eating disorders, treatment, and mental and behavioral health.
