It's a dark, lonely road, moving through life with an eating disorder in tow. Few people knew the depths of despair I sunk into during those years. I was good at hiding. Good at faking a smile. But even at its worst, my eating disorder journey is not something I would wish away. I'm grateful for it because it gave me recovery - and recovery gave me something I never expected.

There are nuggets of wisdom from that time in my life that I carry with me even to this day. Some of the most profound lessons I learned in my eating disorder recovery were not about food or body image; they were about how to live and how to trust myself.

Today, I want to share some of my favorite big little recovery lessons with you. I hope they resonate and remind you that recovery (the excruciatingly difficult moments and all) is worth it.

1. Feeling is Healing and What You Resist Persists

Emotions can be SO uncomfortable! I get it. I'm a Highly Sensitive Person, remember? But avoiding feelings certainly doesn’t make them go away. In fact, it often makes them stronger. When you allow yourself to truly feel and process emotions instead of pushing them down, you create space for real healing.

What emotions do you tend to resist the most, and what are you afraid could happen if you allowed yourself to fully feel them?

2. Nobody Can Read Your Mind

You might wish that others just knew what you needed (I certainly do), but expecting others to read your mind usually leads to frustration and disappointment. Clear communication is essential for recovery and beyond. When you express your needs openly, you allow others the opportunity to step up and support you.

Is there something you’ve been hoping someone would just know about you? How might things change if you voiced it instead?

3. You Will Find Whatever You Look For

Your brain is always gathering evidence to support what you already believe, whether that belief is helpful or harmful. If you expect failure, anticipate rejection, or fear you're a burden, you’ll unconsciously look for proof. But the same is true when you search for evidence of hope, proof that you're loved and that you're worthy just as you are.

What stories about yourself or your recovery have you been reinforcing? What might shift if you started looking for evidence of your strength and progress instead?

4. It's Only Possible if You Believe It's Possible

If you don’t believe something is possible for you, you’re unlikely to take the steps needed to make it happen. Doubt can keep you stuck, while even a small willingness to believe in recovery opens the door to real change. Once I believed full recovery was possible, it made it possible.

Where in your recovery or your life have you been telling yourself that you can’t? What would happen if you allowed yourself to believe, even just a little, that you can?

5. Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes

Recovery, like everything else you may want in life, requires action. Waiting and wishing for things to get better is not enough. If you keep doing the same things, you’ll keep getting the same results. But the good news is that even teeny tiny changes can create momentum toward healing and can add up to wonderful progress.

What's one small change you could make today that would support movement toward your goals? And could you break that small change down into two even smaller changes? Go for it!

6. You're Never Back at Square One

I've been through relapses. I understand that it can feel like you’re starting over when you struggle, but every experience, especially the hard ones, teaches you something. You can't un-grow and un-learn the lessons you learn in recovery. Setbacks don’t erase your progress; they’re part of the process. You’re always moving forward, even when it doesn’t feel like it.

When have you faced a setback and still found a way to move forward? What lessons from past challenges can you carry forward now?

7. You Don't Get Anywhere in a Rocking Chair

Worry can make you feel like you’re doing something, but in reality, it just keeps you stuck - much like rocking back and forth in a rocking chair and going nowhere. While your worries may be valid, it's important to remember that endless overthinking does not create solutions. Action, even a small one, is what leads to real change.

What’s something you’ve been worrying about instead of taking action on? What’s the first small step you could take instead?

8. The Only Constant is Change

Change is inevitable, whether we welcome it or resist it. Learning to embrace change allows for growth, new possibilities, and way more peace. And if you're going through a tough time, no matter how hard things feel right now, they won’t stay this way forever because, well...change!

How does it feel to remember that even your hardest moments are temporary? What’s one way you can support yourself through the changes you’re facing?

9. Pain is Pain is Pain

Pain should never be a competition. Whatever pain you experience is just as real and just as valid as anyone else’s. Comparing your struggles only distances you from the support and compassion you deserve and is really just a way of avoiding your emotions (see Feeling is Healing above). All pain matters because you matter.

Have you ever minimized your own pain because you felt that someone else had it worse? How might it be to simply acknowledge your pain without comparison?

10. The Harder Thing Is Probably the Right Thing

More often than not, the path that feels most difficult is actually the best one for you and leads to the greatest growth. Avoidance and comfort keep us stuck, while the harder thing, whether it’s challenging a fear, setting a boundary, or speaking your truth, moves us toward healing.

Where in your recovery are you choosing the easier path, and what might change if you leaned into the harder choice?

Go Forth, Warrior

Eating disorder recovery is not easy, but the lessons learned along the way can help guide you forward. As you reflect on these ideas, remember that change happens one small step at a time, one moment at a time. Which lesson speaks to you the most right now? What’s one way you can apply it to your life today?

Sending love and hope 💕

✨ Josie Munroe, LMFT is a licensed therapist and owner of JosieMunroe.com and Your Sensitive Recovery.  As a recovered clinician and Highly Sensitive Person, she loves supporting others on their journeys to form new, empowered relationships with food, their bodies, and their sensitivity. Join the newsletter for a weekly boost of hope and inspiration. You deserve a recovery that works for you! ✨