Saturday 25 April 2009

helping hand..

HELLO!!!! Wow i have missed you guys...so sorry i have been so lacking in posts but when i finish work everyday i am just so tired! and i have been looking for my first house!!

So, i thought in todays post that i would share some exercises that i am trying to use to help with my recovery....

Postcard exercise
this is like writing a letter to yourself, just to remind you when you are down, what you are recovering for and how worth it, it is. Buy yourself some postcards (mine have love, smile, happy days, i love you etc on the front) and write on the back a little note to yourself.. one example of my note is 'SMILE, you have so much to live for...this is your time..dont let ED take anymore from you...he has taken to much already.. its now time to shine' once you have written your note, pop it in an envelope and seal it. Do this with as many postcards as you wish, and put them in different places around your house, car, whatever...when you are feeling down, open one, you wont know which one it is, but that little note will remind you of why you wrote those words in the first place and give you a lift :)

6 questions
I got this next exercise from a great book i am reading called 'beating eating disorders step by step' the wondeful woman who wrote it, suffered herself and is now fully recovered, she gives hope that true recovery is possible and writes in a way that tells her readers she truly understands.
The 6 questions exercise helps deal with anxiety and self esteem. when you are having a negative thought whether it be about food, weight, life, anything..ask your self these 6 questions..you wont need all 6 questions for one situation, in some cases you may only need to ask your self 1 question..

what are the fears? ask yourself what you are having the negative thought for, and find an example of when you realised this negative thought it not true...for example 'i have no friends' the fear here is that you will be alone and fear of isolation..then find an example of when you had fun with family or friends and challenge the negative thought.

Am i trying to be perfect? ask yourself who are you trying to please? what are you trying to acheive? would you expect other people to reach the high standards you set for yourself? and imperfection is what makes us unique and beautiful..

Was it really that bad? what ever you got upset about was it so bad to get so upset over? are you making a mountain out of a molehill? challenge these thoughts and remind yourself it could have been alot worse...

How much do i want this to affect my life? How important is the negative thought? is it really that big a deal to let it ruin my day? a good example is if you think you have upset someone...many times i have texted a friend and they havent replied...this gets to me and i think they hate me..i later realise they were jusy busy and were meaning to reply when they had a second! that negative thought could have easily been avoided...we have to realise other people have lives and problems and just because i didnt get a text doesnt mean i have done anything wrong...you may dwell on an upsetting event but are other people? probably not...

Am i really to blame for this situation? this is a really good one to ask yourself, lots of people develop ED's because they blame themselves for things that were not in their control. it is so important to ask yourself whether you should beat yourself up over something you can not control..everyone is in charge of their own behaviour..we can not control other people and the situations they chose to be in..therefore we are not to blame..

How would this appear to someone else? This one really helps me...when i find myself fretting over little things and getting myself upset, i ask myself.. would other people be this anxious? and the answer is always no...consider how you would have dealt with things before you were ill or how your sister or friend deals with situations, events etc..

Journalling
Journalling helps me immensely, whether it be a quote, a revelation, a brainstorm..filling a book with positive things i can look back on really helps me through the tough times.

Photo's
Look at photos of when you were happy, carefree and full of life...relive those moments...remember how you felt...you cant go back to them but you can make you future something you really want...

Talking
it really is the best therapy...whether it be to family, friends, doctors, whoever...dont bottle things up..talking really shows that things can be easier when you say them out loud..

Il be back with more exercises...i think every week i am going to post 'exercise of the week' we can all help each other and rediscover who we really are :)

Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxx

11 comments:

  1. Hannah, thank you SO much for posting these exercises. I plan to journal on most of them. They seem like they'll be really helpful. You can always e-mail if you need another helping hand :)
    Love ya always,
    Lexi

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  2. hi hun
    wow this post is amazing :) so helpful! i hope you dont mind, but i saved it to my computer and printed the excerises you mentioned out :)
    i hope your doing well, it seems like your being really pro-active in recovery, which defiently helps ALOT and makes recovery faster, so keep it up hun!
    have a great weekend :)
    love ya lots
    xxxx

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  3. LOVE IT!! This post is soooo wonderful-I can't wait to try everything! I especially like the 6 questions exercise...there are many instances when it seems that asking myself "How much do I want this to affect my life?" might knock some sense into me :) Thanks for sharing, and happy weekend!!

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  4. oh my goodness, thank you so much for this post! I'm going to print it out if that's ok, to go back to next time I'm having a hard time :)
    I hope you're having a good weekend!

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  5. Aww love you too <3

    LOVE the postcard exercise...will definitely try it. The questions - my therapist actually asks them all the time when I'm being irrational! And, of course, I adore journaling (:

    Have a great weekend love!

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  6. Love the post! I plan to use it in my journal. Good luck finding a home!

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  7. these are great! can I ask who wrote the book? I found a couple recently with some great ideas in them that I'll post at some point. :)

    hope you are having a good weekend xxx

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  8. Wow..these exercises are amazing! I'll definitely be taking them on board. =)
    Hope you're doing well my darling!
    xoxox

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  9. wow, these are freaking good exercises. thanks for sharing with us! I find journaling so very helpful! did you do them yourself? all of them? let us know how you liked them, and what you got from them, please?

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  10. thank you hun for posting this. looks like a really good exercise to do. will try it now.
    have a lovley weekend
    xx

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  11. Wow, thanks for the fabulous exercises- I must try some! Hope you are well hun, it's been a pleasure knowing you! Remember, life is too short to waste- live it to the fullest, if she can, YOU can!!!!
    xoxo
    Laci ;-)

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