Building a Life Beyond the Mirror
Eating disorders can make life feel trapped inside the mirror. Every choice, thought, and interaction becomes filtered through body image, control, or judgment. Whether it’s the inner critic that won’t be quiet, an outsiders perspective, or something witnessed the harsh words that fuel your eating disorder are truly not beliefs that are inherent to who you are as a person. Recovery asks you to step outside the mirror and reclaim a life full of meaning, connection, and authenticity.
Values-Based Living
Therapy often focuses on values — what truly matters to you. When you reconnect with your values, you create a life that is rich, even amidst challenges.
Exercise (ACT-Based):
Identify 3 core values: connection, creativity, or resilience.
Schedule one activity this week that reflects each value, independent of body or appearance. By scheduling one activity based on your values, you get time away from your eating disorder, time to be present in something different, and time to move toward a different relationship with yourself.
Reflect on the experience and how it feels to act in alignment with your authentic self.
Creating a Body-Neutral Perspective
Instead of focusing on weight or shape, focus on what your body does: walking, hugging, dancing, breathing. This shift reduces constant evaluation and increases trust in your body. The age old saying, before you can run, you have to learn to walk applies here. Your body image isn’t going to miraculously change from negative to positive overnight. First, you have to decrease the negative voice, start implementing neutral statements that are just facts, and then over time the hope is the positive views and thoughts will come. An example of shifting a negative comment to a neutral comment would be: Negative- I am not as thin as her. Neutral: My body is my own and no one has the same body.
Recovery Tip: Keep a small journal to track body-neutral observations each day — for instance, “My legs carried me on a 20-minute walk today” or “My hands made a meal for my family.”
Brené Brown teaches: “Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together.” Your journey is messy, brave, and worthy. Recovery is possible, and every time you reconnect with values, compassion, and life beyond appearance, you are moving closer to wholeness.
