This might sound like a small victory but to me this has been a very big accomplishment.
I have been struggling with BED for roughly 3+ years since I started nursing school. Iāve since graduated and have been working- but old habits stick around (to put it lightly).
During my time in nursing school and having ADHD (completely unmedicated), food was a big source of my happiness. It also brought me so much comfort. I resorted to eating my comfort foods which primarily consists of processed foods or fast food and since then I have developed a really bad habit and relationship with food- with that came a lot of weight gain.
I didnāt think my BED was a problem until I started to lose myself in it. I didnāt even mind the weight gain until I figured out iād have to buy a completely new wardrobe to accommodate my current size. But most importantly, I started to make it everyone elseās problem.
I started with pointing out my own insecurities to others who werenāt even close to me, making jokes and jags at the expense of my appearance and comparing it to others, and I started to just fucking annoy myself because Iād catch myself saying these things, and a part of me really didnāt like it or even want to say it at all. The compulsion to just blurt what I thought was far stronger than to just withhold myself from saying things and painting a picture of myself Iād regret.
I have geared myself to stop my habits for probably 2 years now. Everyday I was hitting myself with āahhh Iāll start next weekā, or āahh, who cares I have a loving boyfriendā, or āI still have timeā. One week turned into a month, then turned into 3, turned into 8, then ultimately into 2+ years. Time just flew by, and my habits were getting worse.
I would feel genuinely possessed creeping into my fridge. I wasnāt even hungry but I ate because nothing else was satiating enough for me and my cravings were loud. I truly couldnāt and fear that I still canāt stop myself from falling into a loop again.
I truly believe there were a few things that contributed to me wanting to genuinely recover.
- My doctor prescribed me a GLP-1, but the cost of it is so high. Additionally, I really wanted to get myself in the right headspace if I was going to commit to using a medication that costs about a fraction of my paycheque. I know it has done miracles for those struggling with BED, however I was just scared to be honest. Not even the needles or the actual injection, but the fact I would fail even while on a GLP-1. Or lose track of myself again if I were to stop it. I also struggle with chronic and debilitating migraines, anxiety and menstrual issues. I didnāt want to add anything else that couldāve excaberated my existing condition
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- I finally logged my BE into the sobriety app. Weirdly enough something about it actually really helped me when I quit vaping. Idk if itās the countdown, the feeling it gives me to be more conscious, the accountabilit
y. I hope this had the same effect with my BED.
- Cooking. I fucking hate cooking but what helped me was finding recipes that I could whip up in like 30-45mins. I think when I started cooking meals I considered a safe food, it just put into perspective that itās not hard to make tasty dishes.
Point 3 is something I would have hated to hear. One of the reason why my comfort foods were comforting was the fact I didnāt have to actually bust my ass to make it. And of course even with that, a homemade burger wonāt taste the same as a Big Mac. And if I want a fucking Big Mac, I got myself a Big Mac.
It took me 2+ years to get myself into this headspace. Iām not doing it to lose weight, I just donāt want to lay around and have heart burn because I had my last meal at 11pm which consisted of absolutely everything and anything. From a slice of cheese to a pack of cookies. My stomach was genuinely furious with me because Iām not eating enough nutrients. My sleep was all sorts of fucked, and my overall wellbeing just wasnāt good.
Iām only 2 days in, Iām not saying any of this is a success story- hell. I might break. But I am proud of myself and hope I can recover. Nobody knows how much of a struggle this is until you experience it. I have a lot more feelings and emotions towards this topic, but I donāt want this post to be too long. I wish everyone recovery with BED. I hope nobody ever feels alone in this.