Recovery is tough. There is no denying that. Sometimes it seems impossible. Sometimes you want to give up.
Well I've found a way of coping with those moments when you've lost hope: a recovery inspiration book or journal. (All pictures in this post are of my recovery inspiration book)
I only started mine a few days ago, but I already love flicking through the pages I have done and remembering each and every point in there. It helps keep you strong at the weakest of times, and provides encouragement for yourself. After finding mine so helpful already, I knew I had to share recovery book ideas, and what you can put in it. Find a notebook that is pretty and you like, with lots of pages to give you room to express yourself and include lots of inspiration! So here goes:
1) Quotes
Write lots and lots of quotes. Make them as plain or as elaborate as you want. Write multiple quotes on a page, or write one quote on a whole page and use vivid colours to convey the positive message. Choose quotes that are helpful to you. It doesn't matter if every single other person finds a quote useful. If it doesn't work for you, then don't use it. Similarly, if everyone else hates a quote, but you love it, then go ahead and use it! This book is for helping and encouraging you, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.
2) Reasons to recover
Make a list of reasons to recover. Make this list as long as you can and leave room to add to it. Try to spend a while thinking over this and make sure you believe in each point. There's no point writing it just for the sake of it!
This will become one of the most key motivation pages in your journal, so make sure to spend enough time on it, and don't rush! You don't need to finish this quickly! You could add little bits at a time and do it over days, you don't have to do it all in one go!
3) Battles page
I have made a 'battle page' in my recovery book, where every time I've had a battle or a real challenge, when Ed's been the loudest in my head and I've had to fight to manage to eat, if I manage to win the battle and eat, or if you're battling self harm and you manage to resist the urges and you don't do it, then you draw a little heart on that page.
Over time the hearts will build up, so that when you're feeling your weakest and you just want to give up, you can look at the book and see how strong you are and how many times you have won the battles. This will act as a huge encouragement and motivation for you to win your battle again and draw another heart <3
4) Support page
Make a page, or more than one page, with support from your friends, family, inspirational people you've met, key-workers or nurses, you name it! This could be things that they've said, compliments people have said about your personalities, support your friends have given you etc. Then when you are having a tough time, you can look at that and realise how many people love and support them, and how you have to keep fighting for them.
You could also make another page of people you could call or talk to if you're feeling down. I know that sometimes when I am at my worst I feel so alone even though I know I have so many people supporting me, and sometimes in that moment I forget how many people I could talk to. So if you make that list, when you are down you can look at it and choose the person you think would help and support you most at that time.
5) List of disadvantages of your ed (or self harming)
Sometimes your mind tricks you into thinking that you will be happier if you listen to Ed, or you give into the urges of self harm. And even if you look at your reasons to recover, you still think that you'll be happier if you give in. Writing out a list of the disadvantages will really help, as when you are thinking of the advantages of Ed or why you want to self harm, your brain often hides the reason why they are so bad and dangerous. Having the list of the disadvantages (again, have this list as long as you can possibly make it and leave room to add to it) will help snap you out of your Ed thoughts and let you take control again. Not Ed, but you. Remind yourself of why you started recovery in the first place.
6) Goals and challenges
You can include a list of goals, write challenges for yourself, record meal plans etc. Make sure these goals and challenges are realistic and do-able, and work towards them. When you tick them off you'll feel such a sense of achievement, and you'll be totally kicking Ed in the process ;) Leave lots of room for your goals and challenges to build up and change, and each time you tick something off you'll feel that bit stronger, and you'll be that step closer to recovery.
7) Photos
Use lots of photos as motivation to recover! Memories of having fun and enjoying yourself, or photos of your family and friends, photos of role models (healthy role models who are normal sized, and won't trigger Ed!), photos of quotes- you name it! Anything you find helpful.
8) Make it pretty!
You'd be surprised how much making your book attractive and using bright colours will make you feel so much more positive. If you use dull colours and it looks cold and miserable, then that could stop you from wanting to look at it, and Ed might try to convince you that it's pointless! So make your book a place of inspiration, let it help you in your recovery.
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I think those are all my main ideas for things you could put in it, though of course there are many other things you could add too! Make your book work for you, add things that you will find useful, and do whatever you want in it.
If you want more ideas of what you could put in it, I found this
Step by Step page really useful, so have a look at that if you want more ideas and more detail!
Hannah xox
