Navigating Nourishment: Healthy Coping Strategies for Eating Disorders

Research: Ivan Lo

Design: Charlotte Chan

Life in a Mainstream Normative society, such as Hong Kong, is demanding, with challenges awaiting individuals both physically and mentally. Civilians are pressured to adopt an Asian slim body standard. Most of the time, when these standards are not met, people are subjected to cruel and diminishing jokes, which can affect one’s mental health and well-being. Many people resort to extremes, significantly restricting their food intake and sacrificing their productivity, health and wellbeing in the hope of changing their body shape or weight.

Living with an eating disorder can be a challenging journey (as explained in the previous article), filled with ups and downs, but it’s essential to remember that recovery is feasible. This article will explore the significance of healthy coping mechanisms in supporting different individuals on their path of recovery from eating disorders. Furthermore, by embracing positive strategies and practices, people can nourish their journey towards recovery and cultivate a better mindset.

Understanding the Role of Coping Mechanisms

Coping mechanisms are crucial in managing eating disorders. Many healthy coping strategies can be used as tools for individuals to utilize to navigate different triggers, emotions and challenges effectively and constructively. As a result, differentiating/alternating between different healthy coping mechanisms can help?that support recovery and avoid conflict with food.

There are many different creative ways to identify or create a coping mechanism for yourself, such as:

1. Journaling can help anyone write their feelings throughout the day.

2. Creating a support network which can include family members, trusted friends and qualified mental health professionals (clinical psychologists, counsellors, social Workers, therapists etc.) can help you feel  supported and happy throughout the recovery process. 

3. Self-care techniques such as meditation, yoga or just generally engaging in hobbies can promote mental and emotional well-being. Taking time for self-care can help individuals nurture themselves and cultivate a sense of self-compassion and acceptance.

4. Mindful eating practices can include paying attention to the sensations, thoughts and emotions which may arise during meals. By practising mindful eating, individuals can foster an understanding of the connection between their body’s hunger and fullness cues, which can create a more balanced relationship with food.

Managing triggers and building resilience

There are many steps to managing triggers and building resilience, which can have a long-lasting, positive  impact on an individual.

1. Identifying triggers - Awareness is always the first step on the road to mental health recovery. Identifying events, people and situations (or other external stimuli) that trigger emotions can help warn individuals about a particular trigger or identify a method to handle it better. In DBT (dialectical behavioural therapy), behaviour chain analyses are utilized to help identify triggers leading to a particular behaviour. Using this technique, the chain of environmental, social and other factors that precipitated problematic behaviours can be exposed. Linking  each event that precedes the behaviour can provide insight into the factors that trigger you.

   
   

There are many common triggers for those in the process of recovering from an eating disorder such as:

• Stepping on a scale

• Clothes or grocery shopping

• Numbers about weight, size and food intake

• Being surrounded by food

• Conversations about diets and weight loss

• Boredom, loneliness and stress

2. Interrupt the connection between the trigger and the disordered eating behavioural pattern - The disordered behavioural response to a trigger is just a response that can be delayed. When faced with an urge to restrict, binge or purge, suspending the desire to give in, pausing and making space for the feeling that exists between the trigger and eating disorder behaviour can help.

   
   

Delaying altogether and resisting the urge to engage in the disordered behaviour is referred to as “urge surfing.” This approach that urges come in, such as wave, and will eventually they too will go. Uncomfortable as it is, “surfing away” an urge allows time and unpleasant feelings to pass, as a form of impulse control.

3. Take action in healthy mechanisms!

   
   

In essence, now that you understand more about the impact of eating disorders, be kind to others who are suffering, and help them to take action. Remember, kind words can have a large impact, and you never know a person’s life situation and what they are going through, so be compassionate!

In conclusion, I hope that you understand more about the recovery process as a building block from Abby's (another member of the superhuman project) article on eating disorders! You aren’t alone!

Sources

• The Eating Disorder Foundation. (n.d.). About Eating Disorders. https://www.eatingdisorderfoundation.org/learn-more/about-eating-disorders/coping/ 

• The Emily Program. (2019, 12, 19). Coping with Triggers in Eating Disorder Recovery. Retrieved 2/2, 2025, from https://emilyprogram.com/blog/coping-with-triggers-in-eating-disorder-recovery/