August 3, 2014
Good Enough
I read an article from the Renfrew foundation today about recovery. Even though I am very aware of the different perspective on Eating Disorder recovery, I was struck by the differences in the ways that clinicians and clients define “recovery”. Some state that “all ED behaviors and thoughts about behaviors must be non existent for two years”. I was somewhat surprised by this idea. As I thought about this more and read further into this clinician’s definition of “ED behaviors”, I thought to myself, “I don’t have an eating disorder, but there sure are days when I have negative thoughts about my body.”
I resonate with Martina Verba’s idea of “good enough” recovery. She states that recovery is about embracing imperfection and experiencing recovery as a path rather than a destination. She found in her study while there were individuals who reported freedom from weight/food related thinking, most stated that they might experience weight/food related thoughts, however,they stated these thoughts could just be considered “fluid” and not “destroy the day.”
So recovery is different for each person struggling with an eating disorder. How do you define recovery? I’d love to hear your perspective.
Kelly F. Dennis MS LPC 