“In the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths.” ~Drew Barrymore

Dear Readers,

I would like to share this wonderful post by Lauren Cowne with you. Please take out a moment to read it. I hope it will help you in your journey to recovery and healing.

By: Lauren Cowne

3 Keys to Ending the Relapse Cycle

Do you know this cycle well?  You enter into a treatment program, do pretty well when you are in there and when you get out you go right back to the behaviors again?

Whether you have done this once, twice or twenty times, this is a common pattern that I see again and again (and it happened to me!!).  And it even happens when you are getting treatment in outpatient or other settings as well.  Many women find that it is very simple and easy to follow the rules in an inpatient facility or structured program where you are forced into stopping the ED behaviors and monitored 24/7 — but what happens when you get home?  What happens when you are all alone?

Here is beautiful soul Sara’s story and question that I address in today’s Q+A Video:

“Hi my name is Sara and I am a 40 year old XXX lb mess of a whole bunch of EDisms. I have been in 7 hospitals since my young 14 year old self was hijacked and tortured by ED….The problem with treatment is that it’s great but when I get out relapse happens quickly.  E.D. will use anything to get back in my life even recovery. He tells me the only reason I was able to gain weight and stop exercising and binging and purging is because I was in a hospital where he couldn’t go but now that I’m out it’s time to make up for lost time. I object but he refuses to allow me to take credit for any gains in any sense of the word. How do I stop this?”