I always knew that treatment for binge eating disorder wouldn't happen overnight. What I didn't know, however, was how much time binge eating disorder treatment would take. Finding freedom from binge eating disorder is usually not a linear path and takes time along with patience to get through.

Treating the causes of binge eating disorder (BED) is so much more than treating merely the symptoms. The underlying purpose of the eating disorder, or what caused the maladaptive eating patterns, are what we need to explore and deal with. Doing this will help lead to a stable, long-lasting recovery that conquers the causes of binge eating disorder instead of simply removing the symptoms of it.

It can be hard to integrate old binge foods back into your diet. In all honesty, I still have foods that I fear greatly though I have been in recovery from my binging behavior for quite some time. These foods are the ones that I would consistently binge on and would bring me mass amounts of distress. Over time, however, I have learned to reintegrate old binge foods back into my diet and consume them in a normal way.

I always knew I needed to let go of shame during binge eating disorder recovery and knew it would be a difficult road getting there. Letting go of the shame surrounding your eating disorder behaviors allows you freedom from the secrecy of your disorder and is essential while on the path to wellness. Here are tips on letting go of shame in binge eating disorder recovery.

Being honest with yourself and where you're at in your eating disorder recovery process can be challenging. At times I find I am trying to convince myself that I am doing better than I actually am. What we need to do is be honest with ourselves each day, checking in, seeing where we are at and what we need. Doing this will create self-awareness that will aid in keeping slips at bay.

Since being in eating disorder recovery and feeling well enough to start dating again, I have found that the dating scene can be difficult to navigate. Finding someone who understands what you are going/have gone through may seem like an impossible task. Here are some tips on getting back out there once you feel ready to date again in eating disorder recovery.

We need to learn how to deal with the urge to binge eat -- even if we haven't binged in years. When the urge to binge arrives, we may feel like our only choice is to give in. Here's the good news, we have a choice. We can choose not to act on binging behaviors. Here are some tips to help deal with the urge to binge eat head on.

The benefits of dance movement therapy (DMT) during my eating disorder recovery can't be ignored. I have been a dancer all my life and, honestly, think dance is what saved this life of mine (Alternative Approaches to Mental Health Treatment). Shortly into my eating disorder recovery journey, I began working with a dance movement therapist. Having this experience made me realize how important movement, in particular, dance movement therapy, is for eating disorder recovery.

Some people don't understand this, but binge eating disorder combined with depression can make food your only friend.When binge eating ran my life, I also experienced major depression. I don't know which came first, the binge eating disorder or depression, but co-occurrence of depression is common among those with eating disorders (Depression and Eating Disorders: When Sadness Never Fades).

Something I always stress to people is that eating disorder recovery is not always a linear process and slips in eating disorder recovery happen. This is unfortunate, but something we need to be aware of. Throughout my recovery journey, I fell back into old disordered eating behaviors countless times before long-term abstinence from binging was able to occur. Here's how to deal with slips in eating disorder recovery.