emma (!pro recovery!)

“JIBARO is also talking about a relationship that is extremely toxic, about a relationship between predators that is sensual because it’s based on the attraction to each other for the wrong reasons,” Alberto explains. “I like when you don’t know who is the real good person and who is the bad guy. It promotes a strong feeling.”

Hey Guys! i wanted to make a masterpost on harm reduction for people who struggle with eating disorders. i have written this one mainly focusing on anorexia and bullimia as thats what i struggle with.

so, what is harm reduction? harm reduction is basically steps put in place before someone does something dangerous to make it less risky - to put it simply. people who have eating disorders dont get a choice to have the ed, and recovery is very hard, so for the people who cant recover yet they can at least use these tips to stay safe.

some dangers of starving are:

low iron and other vitamins and minerals

passing out, fainting, feeling dizzy, hot flushes and sweats

weak and damaged hair, nails and skin

constipation/diarrhoea

malnutrition (obviously)

difficulty breathing

unstable heart rate/weakened heart

muscle deterioration

and much much more...

some things you can do to manage these symtoms are:

taking iron tablets with vitamin c tablets (for better absorbtion) and any other minerals and vitamins for general health

keep small candies on you at all times like jelly beans in case your blood sugar drops quickly

if you feel like youre going to faint please try to eat something even small or at least drink water snd sit down

be gentle when you wash and brush your hair, use strengthening shampoos and oils and you can even get tablets to help with hair and nail growth

use benefiber or eat food with fiber in it to increase bowel movements

drink lots and lots of water, add lemon if you like the taste

haemorrhoids are common with irregular bowel movements so having cream for that can be helpful

get regular blood tests if you can to see where you may need to add more of something

adding salt to foods can up your heart rate

ultimately if youre starving yourself youre going to run into health complications down the line and a lot of them cannot be fixed with a few tips like these. more serious things like muscle deterioration, loss of bone density, heart/cardiac problems etc you will need to go to the doctor or the hospital. please get help if you can, this disorder is horrible and you dont deserve the bad outcomes.

just like starving, purging is also very dangerous and has many bad side effects such as:

decaying teeth

poor oral hygine eg bad breath, cavities, yellow teeth etc

damage to the insides of your stomach and throat and esophagus

weakness, fainting, light headed

(many of the other things i would say were mentioned in the starving section so read both)

purging is an addiction thats very hard to stop once you start and if bad damage is done youll need to go to the dentist, doctor or hospital but heres a few things that can help:

brushing your teeth regularly but not straight after purging

carry around breath mints and lip balm

drinking lots of water and i mean LOTS, purging dehydrates you insanely

laxative abuse is also a form of purging which causes constipation, diarrehoea and haemorrhoids so again creams and fiber and water especially

if you start to vomit or excrete blood go to the hospital asap because its very dangerous

over exercising is something many people with eating disorders do but again there are risks:

heat stroke

fainting, dizzy, light headed, nauseas

over exertion

dehydration

if youre on a treadmill or something and you start to feel faint get off straight away because if you did faint you would really hurt yourself if you fell.

dont exercise on hot days or if you do make sure its somewhere cool and if you start to get flushes sit down in the shade or cool and drink lots of water

when you exercise always have water and maybe an elecrolyte drink next to you so that you can replenish your electrolytes and feel a bit better

before you exercise stretch a lot and make sure your body is warmed up before doing anything too strenuous

other stuff to be aware of:

driving- this on is important because if you are undereating you will probably start to feel faint and if you pass out while driving youre not only putting yourself but others at risk too

temperature- you will start to get cold all the time so make sure you always have warm clothes to wear, beanies, gloves and thick socks are best because those are the places your body needs to stay warm the most

water- some people think water will make them gain weight, IT WILL NOT, if anything it will help you lose weight, without drinking water youll surely die

sleep- sleeping with a restrictive ed is hard for many reasons so try out songs, meditation guides, audio books, podcasts, rain sounds, scents and literally anything you can to at least try to sleep because sleep is SO important and youll be tired enough as it is