Common Challenges After Eating Disorder Treatment in California— & How to Overcome Them

A pretty common conversation I have with clients freshly stepping down from treatment such as PHP/IOP is how to maintain the momentum they created at higher levels of care while back in their everyday lives. Completing eating disorder treatment is a major accomplishment, and unfortunately the work doesn’t end once treatment stops it just changes form. Many folk face challenges in the transition back into the day to day, almost like hitting the unpause button. It’s important to understand these obstacles and have a plan for continuing your recovery journey. By the end of this blog post you should be able to easily identify some common challenges as well as leave with several strategies to overcome them.

What are Some Common Challenges After Eating Disorder Treatment?

Below are four of the most common challenges I discuss with my clients that have stepped down from treatment into the outpatient setting (i.e. working with a weekly therapist like myself!). Before delving any further, I want to remind you all that struggling after treatment is normal and honestly it’s expected to some degree. No one leaves treatment 100% recovered and it’s unfair to hold yourself to that standard. With that in mind, let’s dig in:

1. Emotional Triggers
   Life’s big and small stresses can be overwhelming, and many in recovery may find old emotional triggers bubbling up to the surface again. Anxiety, frustration, or even joy can become catalysts for disordered thoughts or behaviors. Identifying and managing these triggers is very helpful to maintaining recovery.

2. Social Pressures
   Whether we’re talking about diet culture or narratives around anti-fat biases, societal pressures can feel especially overwhelming immediately upon leaving treatment. Whether it's comments from friends or family about fad diets, or social media promoting thin ideals, these influences can make it hard to stay grounded in recovery.

3. Changing Environments
   Transitioning out of treatment and returning to familiar environments—whether it’s school, work, or family settings—can be an unexpected hurdle. Going from 3-8 hours of daily support to being in your day to day can feel jarring, the same spaces where disordered behaviors first developed, bringing up old memories and conditioned responses.

4. Loss of Structure
   While in a treatment stay, there’s often a structured routine involving regular staff supported-meals, therapy sessions, groups and peer support. Once you’re out of treatment, the lack of that consistent community can feel disorienting, and it might be challenging to maintain those same habits back home.

5 Tips and Strategies for Maintaining Recovery in Los Angeles, CA

1. Develop a Support System
   It almost feels obvious to say but it is worth the reminder about who important a solid recovery community is. Staying connected with your outpatient therapist, joining a support group, or leaning on trusted friends and family who understand your recovery goals can be the pieces that allow you to ground during this time. If you need help finding an outpatient ED therapist check out my first blog about that here.

2. Create a Relapse Prevention Plan
   If you want to have a strong and resilient recovery, we need to plan for when things start to go sideways. Having a relapse prevention plan can help you notice early signs that we can catch before going into a full relapse. These types of plans may include journaling, identifying trauma or personal triggers, and having strategies in place, such as coping techniques or grounding exercises.

3. Practice Self-Compassion and Other Forms of Mindfulness
   Recovery isn’t linear, and setbacks can and do often happen. Being soft with yourself during moments of struggle is how we learn to adapt and try again. Practicing self-compassion allows you to make space for your difficulties without letting guilt or shame take over.

4. Revisiting Your Recovery Goals
   Periodically checking in with your recovery goals can help you stay aligned and give you concrete insight into your progression. Setting new, and small goals can make maintaining recovery feel more do-able, creating momentum and motivation for you to keep going.

5. Utilize Community Resources
   I can’t say this enough- healing from an eating disorder happens in relationship and community. We were never meant to do this work alone. By engaging with online communities, forums, or workshops, you can feel more connected with your own recovery and that you’re not in this on your own. These shared experiences with others can be so healing, but if you’re not sure where to start check out this blog post I made about eating disorder recovery resources right here.

Online Eating Disorder Therapy in California for Sustainable Recovery

Maintaining your progress after treatment is an ongoing affair, but with the right tools and support, it’s more than possible to continue thriving in recovery. Challenges will arise, and with the above tips and strategies, building a strong foundation of support and practicing self-compassion is possible, allowing you more breathing room to remain committed to your healing journey.

If you or a loved one are looking to maintain eating disorder recovery and think we could be a good fit, feel free to call or text me at (805) 292-0836 for a free 15 min consultation or click here to send me a message. You have been working so hard and I look forward to joining your healing team.