Be patient. It is going to be a long and winding road, but don’t give up! Recovery is possible!
Knowing the stages will help you understand where your child was, where they are at, and what they have yet to go. It is possible that your child will find a stage in recovery where they feel comfortable, and will stay there. It is up to your child to decide how far they go.
I strongly believe that, in order to be calmer, happier, enjoy peace of mind, and get back the control on their life, your child has to reach stage 5. It is not going to be easy, but it is doable!
5 Stages of Eating Disorder Recovery
- Pre-contemplation
- The individual is in denial about their illness, and refuses to admit that they are sick.
- People around this individual may notice signs of an eating disorder, the person might ignore or refuse to acknowledge these concerns.
- Contemplation
- Individual is aware that they have a problem.
- The person with the eating disorder might fear change, but may start to be open to the idea of recovery.
- In this stage, the individual will likely alternate between wanting to change, and staying in their eating disorder habits.
- Preparation
- The individual decides that they want to recover.
- This person is not sure how to change their eating disorder habits.
- It is recommended to get professional help to form a recovery plan.
- Action
- The person with an eating disorder starts to take steps to recover.
- It is common in this stage to move a couple steps forward, and then take a couple steps back.
- Maintenance
- The individual has been in the action stage for at least six months.
- They have taken steps to improve their eating habits.
- Relapses and slip-ups are common in this stage.
References
- Readiness and stages of change in addiction treatment. DiClemente CC, Schlundt D, Gemmell L.Am J Addict. 2004 Mar-Apr;13(2):103-19. doi: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15204662/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15204662/
- In search of how people change. Applications to addictive behaviors J O Prochaska , C C DiClemente, J C Norcross DOI: 10.1037//0003-066x.47.9.1102