I Have Been Diagnosed With An Eating Disorder

Your individual response to being diagnosed with an eating disorder, among other things, will depend on which stage of the eating disorder you are in.

Stage 1: Pre-contemplation/Contemplation

If you are in the very early stages of an eating disorder (pre contemplation/contemplation) where you may either believe you don’t have a problem, or you know your behaviour is irregular but have no real desire to change, you may feel resentful, angry, frustrated, scared, or any other feeling that relates to a forced change in your patterns and behaviours.

It is common to respond in this manner, however for the safety of your health and well being, the professionals and family or friends around you may need to enforce certain practices to keep you safe until a time when you can re manage your own health and well being.

If, in this stage, you have received a diagnosis and are managing on your own, at the very least, even if your behaviours are strong, start looking into what an Eating Disorder is, and try and look at how aspects of it relate to you.

A good idea is to make an appointment with the Recovery Support Officer at EDV, where you can talk about your feelings around your diagnosis, sit with where you are at in a non judgemental environment, gather information and look at potential steps forward that may work for you.

Stage 2: Preparation

If you are at the stage where you have been thinking about changing your behaviours (preparation) and the diagnosis has confirmed your own suspicions, you may feel hopeful, fearful, scared, anxious, relieved, or all of these things at the same time!

Start gathering information about eating disorders and how it relates to you, look at support options and avenues, call the EDV Helpline to find out what the next steps may be, or make an appointment with the Recovery Support Officer at EDV to discuss what the future may look like, and how to move through recovery with the support options that will best work for you as an individual.

Stages 3 & 4: Maintenance & Action

It is less common to be diagnosed with an eating disorder in the action and maintenance stages of the disorder, as, to be in this stage of your recovery, you usually have an awareness of what you are fighting.

Look at EDV Helpfinder for information on how to find the help you need in your area.

Keep in mind that although a diagnosis may be needed to enter certain treatment facilities or obtain financial rebates for professional services, you don’t need to have an official diagnosis to be suffering from an eating disorder. For a variety of reasons, an eating disorder may be overlooked by professionals.

Self diagnosis should be taken just as seriously and the same steps need to be taken to move forward in your recovery.

Last revision date: Wednesday, 25 January 2012 14:21