In effective eating disorder treatment programs, clients have the opportunity to identify and challenge their destructive patterns. The eating disorder treatment therapy team helps clients take a look at their personal disordered thought patterns and behaviors that act as a barrier to full recovery. When people challenge these destructive patterns in self-care, they can potentially overcome the underlying causes of their eating disorders and move forward in recovery. To get started, we will discuss common destructive self-care patterns, the benefits of overcoming them and how eating disorder treatment programs can help.
Common Destructive Patterns in Self-Care
Destructive self-care patterns often start with disordered thoughts and feelings. A negative internal dialogue, for example, can give way to potentially harmful behaviors that may impede the path to recovery. Overgeneralizing, polarized thinking and labeling are all destructive thought patterns that stand in the way of successfully completing an anorexia or bulimia treatment plan. Avoidance and jumping to conclusions can also prove harmful to clients in inpatient anorexia treatment programs.
For individuals with an eating disorder, destructive behaviors may be viewed as a compulsive need to control food intake or in negative body image thoughts. This behavior may manifest as over or under eating, binging, purging or other harmful behaviors. These behaviors may start out small at first and escalate as time goes on. Challenging these thoughts and behaviors can help clients find the footing they need to achieve the goal of true recovery in their anorexia or bulimia treatment plan.
Benefits of Overcoming Destructive Self Care Patterns
When clients enter eating disorder treatment ready to challenge their harmful thoughts and behaviors, they provide themselves the foundation needed to reach a full recovery. The elimination of these destructive patterns allows for the replacement of healthier alternatives.
Engaging in healthy self-care behaviors can improve self-esteem by reinforcing the value of the individual. As clients accept that supportive self care plays a vital role in their eating disorder recovery, their self image tends to improve. Furthermore, non-destructive self care habits also help improve mood, balance emotions and reduce stress. All of these things are a necessary component of reaching recovery through their anorexia and bulimia treatment plans.
How Eating Disorder Treatment Programs Can Help
Caregivers at eating disorder treatment programs can help their clients challenge disordered thinking patterns and compulsive behaviors using proven care techniques. The care process focuses on healing the entire client including their negative body image perceptions, disordered relationship with food and the connection between these two. Through the appropriate expression of feelings and challenge of destructive patterns, clients can address their eating disorder thoughts and behaviors and begin on the path to true recovery.
The residential or inpatient anorexia treatment process includes the development of an aftercare plan designed to prevent relapse. The aftercare plan continues to support the elimination of destructive patterns and the replacement of these with positive thoughts and behaviors. Aftercare providers can continue to work with the client to help them work through the issues that come up on the path to recovery, including the return of disordered thinking patterns and behaviors.
People with eating disorders can acquire the support they need from providers at a well established eating disorder treatment facility. These providers are skilled in helping clients identify and eliminate destructive patterns and replace these patterns with positive thoughts and behaviors. To start on the path to recovery today, call Monte Nido at 888-228-1253 to speak with an admissions specialist.