Eating Disorder Recovery Tip: Greet the New Year with a Gratitude Journal

       Why not greet with New Year with a gratitude journal?

        You can start by putting a reminder note on your bathroom sink
mirror that says, "Add one item to your gratitude journal, no matter how small."

       (http://www.sleepydust.net/GRATITUDE-JOURNALS-what-is.html)

       The "no matter how small" is essential.  Looking in any mirror at any time for
an eating disorder person can be a trial.  Mirrors, like scales,
bring out the ferocious and unrelenting inner critic, merciless and condemning.

       Meeting that critic with a gratitude reminder can help prevent a person
from spiraling into a bleak emotional state that could well trigger an eating disorder
episode.

       A gratitude journal can help all of us open our minds and hearts to the positive
aspects of living and of our lives in particular. 

       You might think, "Well, I can't do that because I have nothing to be grateful for.
My life is a mess."

       If you are caught in that kind of downward thinking we need to find
a way to reverse the direction and bring you up, not to elation but to a normal
steady state that can perceive realistically.

       So we get very basic.  If you don't like your nose you can still be
grateful that you have a nose.  Some people don't.

       If you don't like your residence, you can still be grateful that you have
shelter.

       If you don't like your body you can still be grateful for having a body
that functions, even imperfectly.

       If you are isolated and alone you can still be grateful that telephones,
e-mail, pen and paper exist and you can make moves to connect with others
when you make that choice.

       Perhaps we could make a gratitude list on this blog with your comments.
That might help people who are stuck in bleakness to get out into new
and more happy possibilities.

       Right now, I'm grateful for the Internet and the development of the blog.
The blog gives me an opportunity to speak more directly to people with
eating disorders and share what I've been learning all my life about what
it takes to recover.

       We are right on time when we start our recovery work. Now
is always the right time. Gratitude can be the open door to a more
healthy and happy New Year.

Joanna Poppink, MFT, psychotherapist eating disorder specialist, Los Angeles, CA;
bulimia, anorexia, compulsive overeating recovery, www.poppink.com