Therapy for Eating Disorders

Feeling Hopeless

Another day of beating yourself up – “What’s wrong with me?”

And negotiating – “I’ll do better tomorrow.”

And giving in again – “I’m so sick of this.”

When will it stop?

Silently Imploding

On your best day, you feel like a shell of yourself.

“Night time is the worst. I’m so ashamed of the things I do. It’s out of control.”

“It used to be that my eating disorder helped distract me from everything else. It made me special, like this was the one thing I could do really well. I felt strong. But now I just feel awful all the time.”

“It feels like I’m crazy. Like, who does this? I can’t stop myself. Deep down, I don’t want things to be this way, but I also don’t want to give it up. It scares me. I just don’t know who I am without it.”

No One Understands

You push people away, desperate for closeness, but on autopilot in this illness.

“It’s confusing. I want relationships where I matter to others, but I don’t trust that people won’t hurt or disappoint me. I know I can count on my eating disorder, even though built into it is the thing that keeps me from being close with others.”

“I don’t want anyone to know. I’m embarrassed. I don’t want people to judge me.”

“I told a past healthcare provider, and he told me to ‘Go home and eat some Oreos.’ Um…”

“At times, my husband is the food police. Other times, he doesn’t seem to notice, and that makes me think he doesn’t care.”

Afraid of the World

You don’t believe in yourself and you never really feel safe.

“I’m afraid of everything… failure, being alone, getting hurt, losing people – you name it. Sometimes, I think I’ll never get better.”

“It’s like I have all these ideas of things I want to do, but I give up before I even start.”

“I over-prepare for things. I once had a professor in college tell me NOT to study anymore. It was so weird. But I listened and got 100%. You’d think that would’ve showed me that I could do it without trying so hard next time. But it didn’t. Instead, I felt all this pressure to now live up to that 100% grade in the future, like I didn’t want to disappoint people.”

Comparing Yourself to Everyone

You’re your own worst critic, and in your mind, you never really measure up to anyone else.

“Social media is the worst. I see all these people I know and they seem so happy. I feel so behind in life.”

“I have this picture in my head of how I’d like things to be, but I can’t imagine ever having that.”

“I hate seeing other people. It just makes my eating disorder worse. I pick myself apart.”

Eating Disorders Help for a While…

Eating disorders help you distract from and avoid feelings or experiences in your life that aren’t or weren’t so great.

They start off as something small, filling a void you maybe weren’t even aware was there, and they feel good at first.

“I wasn’t good at any one thing as a kid. I was the middle child and my brother and sister got all the attention. It was sort of the one thing I could do better than them.”

“My eating disorder makes everything quiet like I don’t have to feel it all. I can’t imagine not having it.”

“It’s like a rush – like I’m getting away with something.”

“Nothing feels better. I look forward to it. It’s like my best friend.”

But Then They Take Over

You pick yourself apart, focusing on every perceived flaw and obsessing over behaviors that aren’t truly healthy. You can’t seem to stop, no matter how hard you try.

“There was a gas leak not too far from my apartment. The fire department came and was evacuating my building. I ignored them and pretended I wasn’t home so I could ‘finish.’”

“My eating disorder is all I think about. My whole life secretly centers around it.”

“Some days, I don’t even want to get out of bed. I’m just so tired.”

The Cost is Too Great

Eating disorders don’t leave room for much else. Over time, they chip away at everything that matters to you.

“I finally started dating someone, but we broke up since he said my eating disorder was ‘too much’ for him. Funny thing was that I barely talked to him about it. I was too scared he’d leave me.”

“I guess I never thought people cared about me, but I still had friends. Now I don’t seem to have anyone.”

“I lie about things a lot now. I’m not proud of it but I’m also not ready to change.”

It’s Not Your Fault

No one chooses to have an eating disorder; it chooses you.

It may feel like you’re fused with it somehow because it’s always there, lurking in the background.

But your eating disorder is not who you are at your core.

And you deserve better.

Becoming Whole

Distraction and avoidance only work for so long, and not very well.

Eating Disorders keep you from becoming yourself fully.

You might not even know who that is yet, but the alternative – keeping this thing – will get you nothing but more of the same pain.

Take Back Your Life

Recovery is possible from your eating disorder—it doesn’t matter how long you’ve had it or the course of your illness. I will partner with you in treatment, knowing that the path to recovery is not the same for everyone.

I am a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS) and have years of specialized training and experience in the treatment of eating disorders. I’m also the 2022 President of the Denver Metro Chapter of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp).

I’m trained in Enhanced-Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT-E) through Oxford University, one of the most effective treatments for eating disorders, but incorporate a variety of other approaches depending on your individual needs. I am one of the few clinicians, if not only CEDS in CO, to offer Virtual Reality Therapy (VRT) to address eating disorder-related fears.

I also personally get what it’s like to have and recover from an eating disorder, so I can attest that life is much better on the other side, even on your worst day.

You can get better from this, but you have to take the first step and reach out for help.

Take Back Your Life from Your Eating Disorder!

Call me at (720) 845-6600 or email drjodiebenabe@somethingwildwellness.com to schedule a free 20-minute consultation.