The Importance of Regular Goal Setting for Anorexia Recovery
🌿Anorexia recovery is long and challenging for a young person, but using short and long-term goals can be key in maintaining motivation and focus to eat and get better.
🌿Agree on short-term incentives to get through meals and hard days.
We reduced our daughter’s activities to a minimum for a few months to preserve energy. One short local walk on a Sunday became a “carrot”. If she ate all meals during the week, she earned that outing, and it also represented what life could look like in the future.
🌿Use long-term goals to remind them what recovery makes possible.
For our daughter, the ultimate goal was going to London with a friend. When she was struggling, we encouraged her to visualise herself there, recovered and happy.
🌿Set clear boundaries and be consistent.
Recovery needs structure. Boundaries take the negotiation out of eating.
🌿Keep talking about the future after recovery.
Independence, sport, travel, concerts, freedom. Daily reminders and affirmations help a young person believe that life after anorexia will be bigger and brighter.
🌷I am a certified coach supporting parents of children with anorexia and other eating disorders.
Contact me for an initial discussion about how coaching could support you.
