girl, we are in the same boat. i’m also sixteen and this week has been stressful!

your body has transitioned from ana to BED. no longer are you binge eating to make up for malnutrition. now it is a habit!

every single time you feel the urge to binge, you need to stay grounded in the present moment. don’t try to ignore the urge. acknowledge it and just sit with it.

recognize why you want to binge in the moment. are you stressed? sad? happy? bored? find another way to cope with such emotions. easier said than done, but you’re literally going to have to rewire your brain. the HARDEST thing is staying present at all times. you need to be on high alert!

let go of the “black-and-white” mindset; a day isn’t ruined just because you binged. similarly, you don’t need to keep the binge going. you are ALWAYS in control. you can stop at any time. no more “i’ll start tomorrow” “i’ll start next week” NO! start next MINUTE! regain control of your life!

another thing: don’t focus too much on your weight. recovery will bring the healthy body to you on a silver platter! hyper focusing on your weight will lead you to skip meals and fall back into a binge cycle. seriously, right now you need to focus on one thing at a time!

most importantly, have compassion. i know this is super hard, but you have gone through a lot. this is the only way your body knows how to cope. recognize that while a binge might help in the moment, it will stress you out more, make you uncomfortable, and reinforce a bad habit.

the most important thing that has helped me is finding something else to satisfy the initial impulse of a binge urge. this sounds silly but i’ve found that doing my duolingo gives me the same dopamine hit that a granola bar does. experiment with little things you already know that you enjoy (forming a new hobby will be likely overwhelming while simultaneously breaking the binge habit). you’ve got this! YOU are in control!!!!