Tips to Avoid Relapse After Inpatient Anorexia Treatment

Many patients who suffer from anorexia choose to stay at an inpatient treatment clinic for several months so they can get the reset they need to move towards recovery. However, a certain number of patients do relapse once they return home from inpatient treatment. Relapse is simply a part of recovery for some patients with eating disorders, but that does not mean you are powerless against it. Here are some tips to help you avoid relapse when you return home from inpatient anorexia treatment.

1. Involve your family in your treatment.

While you are still in inpatient care, make sure you take advantage of any family therapy or family services the clinic offers. For instance, if the clinic offers family therapy sessions, ask your family members to attend them with you. Participating in these programs helps ensure that your family members learn to better understand your eating disorder. It helps them learn how to treat you and how to help you remain in recovery. Then, when you return home, you will return home to family members who know how to help you. Having this support system can decrease your chances of a relapse.

2. Look for outpatient treatment programs near your home.

Before your inpatient care is over, look for some outpatient treatment options near your home. The caregivers at your inpatient clinic should be able to point you in the right direction. If you're able to attend a therapy session or even a support group session once a week when you return home, this will help keep you on track so you can avoid relapse. This also ensures that if you do start showing symptoms again, you'll already be a patient at an eating disorder treatment center, and they can intensify your treatment plan as needed.

3. Apply what you learned in treatment.

In an inpatient treatment program, you learn tools and strategies to help manage your eating disorder. Make sure that you apply these tools once you return home. This can take some practice since your home environment is probably quite different from the environment at a treatment clinic. But it's important to put in that practice so that you're still actively working on treating and managing your condition at home.

Some eating disorder patients relapse once they return home from a treatment program. This does not have to be your fate. Employ the strategies above to help avoid relapse. Contact anorexia medical treatment services to learn more. 


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