Coping with Discharge from Eating Disorder Services (EDS)

Being discharged from your treatment team can be a very challenging part of your recovery journey. Through treatment, you receive a lot of support and encouragement from those you work with and the thought of continuing your journey without that type of intense support can be a difficult thought to come to terms with. The important thing to keep in mind when you reach this part of your journey is how far you have come, reflect on what you have learnt and be proud of yourself for getting to a place where you can take responsibility for your recovery.

Your recovery journey continues after your treatment finishes, you must utilise the skills you have learnt through engaging with treatment and put them into practice. You will discuss how to seek further help from your treatment team at a later date if necessary, and what other support options are available if you ever feel you need some extra support.

I have written below some strategies and tips that I used to help me continue my recovery journey after discharge from Eating Disorder Services (EDS):

I reflected on what coping strategies I had learnt in treatment such as, distraction, challenging the thoughts, I thought about what my motivations and goals are and how I should go about achieving them.
I utilised the support from my family and friends and communicated how I was feeling with them, let them know how they could best support me.
I continued to journal my thoughts and feelings so that they did not cause me to feel overwhelmed, and to prevent me from slipping into old patterns to help me numb the difficult feelings.
I challenged myself to socialise more and eat out, as scary as this was at first the more I did it the easier it became and the stronger I felt.
I acknowledged what I had achieved through completing treatment, such as the ability to recognise my triggers, protect myself from unhelpful conversations and behaviours, take responsibility for myself and how to deal with difficult feelings and emotions in a less self-destructive way.

This article was written by Naomi, who is one of our PEDS support workers.