Hi,

I can relate to the chronic pain. I suffer from it (have done since my teens) - worst pain areas are my spine and my neck. I've had a bad flare up of it this weekend. I've been diagnosed with severe Fibromyalgia and severe PTSD in the past (due to childhood issues). I know for me personally that emotional issues definitely are related to my pain levels. Pain can also be exacerbated by the ED if my weight drops too low; I have to watch this. It's easy for me to get very busy with study, home etc and push myself too hard physically. This of course is counter-productive for much of life, especially the pain levels. I know on some level pain is my body's way of saying "Help, you need to attend to something..." For me working through the abuse issues of the past and dealing with the psychological/emotional fallout of these has been closely linked to what goes on in my body.

I also have to be aware of managing depression and anxiety issues. Through better self-care and lots of recovery work (journalling, self-honesty, good nutrition and moderate exercise) the depression has decreased to almost nothing. I still struggle with the anxiety but again now have tools to help. I use a lot of DBT (Dialectical Behavioural Therapy) resources off the net (there are many great free resources to access) to help me problem solve issues, especially when I'm in that "chaotic, anxious" state and it's hard to be logical.

You ask how to get rid of the ED... I think for me I had to ask the question "What purpose is the ED fulfilling for me, i.e. what needs am I trying to get met through the ED, and what would be a healthier, life-serving way of meeting these needs without being self-sabotaging or self-damaging??"

Do you have access to a professional therapist or counsellor. I've found, as others on this board have, that it is not easy to recover from an ED. It's a long, slow process that takes time, commitment and personal work.

Hope some of this helps....

Kim :)

I also have PTSD from childhood abuse. I have kidney issues and no doctor has helped in 4 years- just given me pain pills which didn't help a bit. I know I am mentally and emotionally exhausted. I just started counseling last week so I haven't really dove into anything but I like my therapist so far. I like the ED questions you asked. I will start working on figuring out the reason I feel I need it and go from there. Thank you for your advice

Kim, I really like the questions you posted to ask ourselves about our particular ED. That's definitely something to give a lot of thought! I know that when I'm emotional and/or lonely my bad habits kick in and that's when I tend to binge.

On another note, I also have chronic pain. I have scoliosis, and although I've done PT which has helped a lot, I still struggle with it. I've found that when my weight is lower the pain tends to be worse too! I wish I didn't obsess about my weight so much.... Then the pain probably wouldn't be as bad, plus there are plenty of other things to think about that are more useful and productive!

Thanks Secret, for what you shared. Interesting that your pain increases when your weight drops also. I've suspected this about my body for a while but couldn't get any professional confirmation on it. It was just my intuition which alerted me.

Myawesomely, it's great that you've started counselling. I hope you find it as helpful and meaningful as I have over the last 7 years since I began to look in-depth at the PTSD/abuse/ED issues with my therapist.

One day at a time, together, we are making life-changing choices eh. Keep up the great work!

Kim xx