Where Can You Find Support?

As you've probably guessed by reading the last two weeks, anorexia and bulimia not only affects the person who has the eating disorder, but also affects the people around that person. That being the case, both the person with the eating disorder and the people that person lives with need support to help them get through the trials associated with treatment.

The ANAD (Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders) Group has over 250 support groups in the United States, with some in foreign countries as well. A partial list of local organizations by state and their representatives is listed on the ANAD website at http://www.anad.org.

An ANAD support group is a group of people who are going through the same struggle with anorexia and bulimia. They provide a safe place to share thoughts and fears and meet other people who are experiencing the same struggle.

While an ANAD support group can be very beneficial and therapeutic in many ways, it should never replace treatment or intense one-on-one therapy with a psychologist. When a person has anorexia and bulimia, there is no magic pill that suddenly stops it. Treatment is ongoing. Joining an ANAD support group can complement your treatment.

One of the things that people who go to support groups find is that there is no stereotype of a person who is struggling with an eating disorder. People of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds will be part of the support group. One thing remains the same in all support groups and that is the ANAD’s eight-step approach.

These are the steps from the ANAD website:

1. Admit to ourselves that we have an eating disorder.

2. Recognize that "food" and "weight" are not the real issues, but that other underlying problems in our lives have led to our obsessions with food, eating, and weight.

3. Make an honest attempt to identify the problems underlying our eating disorder.

4. Acknowledge that self starvation and/or binge - purging are not offering a healthy or satisfactory solution to these problems.

5. Accept the responsibility for changing our lives and applying more appropriate methods of coping with these problems.

6. Realize that we do not have to struggle alone to overcome our problems. We can accept the caring support of others and the guidance of spiritual strength.

7. Establish small individual goals aimed at changing our unhealthy attitudes and behaviors and begin working seriously towards their achievement.

8. Reinforce and sustain our personal growth process by reaching out and helping others struggling with eating disorders.

Seeking help takes a commitment to wanting to get better. While the frequency of attending support meetings is not dictated in any way and is up to the individual to decide, some people find that going to regular meetings helps motivate them as well as educate them. Just like the alcoholic who might attend regular AA meetings, a person who has an eating disorder may find it beneficial to continue to attend meetings to prevent a relapse or to help another person who is still struggling with their eating disorder.

For the person who is still struggling with opening up about the eating disorder or who can't attend regular meetings for a particular reason, there is online support that can help as well. It takes courage to seek help and open up to others about your feelings, and an online group can be a first step for those who have difficulty expressing themselves.

The goal through either online or live support groups is to help with recovery. Nearly 90% of the people who regularly attend support group meetings through ANAD find that attending meetings is helping them with recovery.