Setting Intentions Through Recovery
Setting intentions is an important part of eating disorder recovery. By moving into each week, month and year with clarity around what you are working on, you create a powerful path.
Many people find the start of each week challenging, full of worries and uncertainties. If in addition to this you are trying to go at full speed through recovery with no clear intentions, this can lead to overwhelm and burnout. Instead, we encourage you to focus on setting one or two clear intentions each week.
By setting a defined intention, we bring our focus to that particular goal. And increase the chances of you achieving it. As we reach a goal, we gain confidence and move forward with another. Before you know it, you are recovering and feeling empowered by the process.
Setting intentions that are manageable and achievable can also be highly motivating. Instead of feeling unsure of where you are heading, intentions can bring clarity. Rather than feeling stuck in recovery, you will start to see how all your efforts are paying off.
How to set recovery intentions for the week
1. Create your intention
Ideally, work with your eating disorder coach to set intentions each week as part of your longer-term recovery plan. Alternatively, see if you can check in with different aspects of your recovery. How are you doing with regards to nourishment, emotions, thoughts, boundaries, connection, spirituality, motivation? Think about the area that requires the most work this week. Set an intention that aligns with your recovery and feels empowering; challenging yet achievable.
2. Commit to yourself
Secondly, take a moment each morning to check in with your intention and yourself. What is something specific you can do to support this intention today? How are you feeling this morning, and what do you need? See if you can create an affirmation to support your intention and yourself through this day.
3. Share your intention
An intention shared means the chance for accountability! Sometimes accountability feels scary; however, you have set this intention because you genuinely want to achieve it (even if you feel resistance from the eating disorder). So to support your recovery, see if you can share your intention for the week with someone close to you—somebody who might help you see the intention through and celebrate with you when you achieve it.
4. Go for it
Finally, this is the chance to go for it. When it comes to recovery, there is no such thing as failure. It is far more about the effort you put in and what you learned from the experience than anything else. Take some time to reflect on how things went with regards to your goal at the end of each day. What went well? Did you find something particularly challenging? What could you do tomorrow to bring you closer to this goal?
Most importantly, try to treat yourself with compassion. Remember, you are in recovery, which takes time and patience. Allow yourself the opportunity to go through this process and be kind to yourself along the way.
We support all recovery clients to set intentions as part of their overall recovery plan. Every week your intention adds up to a larger goal, making things manageable and progressive. Before you know it, you are recovering and finding your way. If you want to explore how recovery works with us, click here to read more and get in touch.
Finally, did you miss one of our recovery warriors sharing her authentic experience around setting resolutions as we entered the new year? You can read the full article and her inspiring insights here.
