Do I Need To Have Exactly What I am Craving?

Unrestrict-ED

In this episode Han and Emily discuss how although honouring mental hunger is incredibly important, it is important to be aware that the Eating Disorder has a tendency to take recovery constructs and turn them into restrictive mechanisms. When it is logistically difficult to get the exact item we are craving, it is perfectly appropriate to get something similar (which is energy dense and still recovery-wise) to bridge the gap between the time you can get that item you truly want. It is not pro-recovery to have an all or nothing mindset. Actively challenging taking food off the perfection pedestal and emergence from the energy deficit will both contribute to having a relationship with food where food does not feel as though it has to be perfect at all times to be ‘worth’ having.