Along my very long journey towards recovery, I have made discoveries of various things that work for me when I am struggling. Many of these are just my own adaptation of tools from different methodologies that are proven to work combatting ED. These tips and tricks work for me. Feel free to give them a try or just use these ideas to make up your own.
I use the 5 senses tool but with a slight variation. I will name my favorite movies, 4 of the main characters in it, 3 of my reasons I enjoyed the ‘movie to make it one of my favorites, 2 places that I thought were great in the movie and 1 favorite scene in the movie. Use as much or as little detail as you are able; the more detail the longer the exercise is and the more calm you might find yourself becoming. This technique does not keep me grounded in the present as the 5 senses tool does. But rather allows me to distract myself away from the ruminating or unpleasant thoughts I am having. Which ultimately helps to calm me and then allows me to be back in the present. I am a reader, so I might switch it up and use 5 of my favorite books.
One of my favorite tricks is just as simple. I am, and always have been, a reader so I take my favorite book or series of books and using any actress or actor, past or present, alive or dead and at any age they were in acting to figure out who I would cast as each character. See if you can actually visualize them in the role you are assigning them to. If you are not a reader, but use an app to listen to a book, you can still do this. This is also something I use when my mind is racing at night and I need to slow it down. BTW, if you and any of your friends are readers, you can turn this into a great conversation which can invoke a lot of laughter as you learn who others think would be a good fit for each character.
The great thing about the first 2 tips/tricks is that you can do them anytime you want. You are only using your mind and last I checked no one is a mind reader so others won’t know what you are doing.
Another thing that I do which helps with distraction and helps make me smile is that I think of something, going all the way back to the first things I can remember, and find a positive memory. Once you find one, concentrate on the actual memory and NOT what happened before or after the memory. Everyone has at least one memory that brings a smile to their face. The trick here is to focus on the positive emotions that the memory invokes. Go ahead and actually smile as you remember it. That is the object. Don’t panic if it is hard to find one in the beginning. Just keep trying. When I first developed this technique for myself it was impossible for me to find a good memory. But I kept working on it for only about 2 minutes at a time until I was able to find one. The reason for the time limit is to minimize any sense of frustration when you are not able to recall something good. Don’t beat yourself up. Just try again at another time. It took me about 5 times of doing this technique before I was able to come up with one. Once I was able to find a memory, it seemed like the flood of good memories didn’t want to stop. This helped me to begin to realize that my life had some great times, which I had a hard time remembering. My first good memory that makes me smile is the x-mas I got a brush, comb and mirror set when I was 6. Both of my grandmothers had one and I felt so grown up and ‘just like them’. This memory never fails to make me smile.
As time goes by you may find other tips and tricks that work for you. In my opinion, any tips or tricks you find that are POSITIVE in nature and help you are okay. E-mail me with them at wingsofrecovery@yahoo.com. If I get enough tips and tricks that work for you, I will publish a blog on them in the future.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I know and believe that those of us who suffer from an ED of any type can beat it. It is hard work and at times feels impossible; but I am sure it is a goal that is obtainable to all of you out there.
KEEP YOUR CHIN UP! Take baby steps towards your recovery, put one foot in front of the other and know, with a capital K, you CAN do it. Even if you can’t see it now, the world needs you!
Wings of Recovery 