Talking about recovery for your body-focused repetitive behaviour (BFRB) is all fine and well, but where do you even start? Like how recovery itself may look different from person to person, getting started with approaching recovery at all may vary as well. That’s not to say that there aren’t some general guidelines you can consider and shape to help you on your journey though, and that’s what you’ll find in this blog.
These are just a few ideas you can use to kick-start your BFRB recovery.
Think about what you’d like to achieve
What’s important to you? What are your goals with recovery? It doesn’t have to be anything monumental—even something as simple as picking/pulling/biting less or understanding your BFRB better—works, but having an idea of what you’re hoping to accomplish can help. That way, you know what you’re working toward.
Educate yourself about BFRBs
There are many reasons this is beneficial because knowing what you’re dealing with can make a world of difference in how you approach it. Understanding the “beast” you’re facing can better prepare you for tackling it. You can start education yourself by visiting websites like ours, other BFRB organizations, and even reading books. Check out our BFRB Bookshelf to see some that we’ve read.
This’ll also help with understanding what you can and can’t control when it comes to your situation. For instance, that your BFRB exists is not something you can control since it’s a disorder, but you can control the steps you take to manage it and recover.
Self-education can also help understanding stigma versus reality. As an example, stigma says that BFRBs are just habits that people with no self-control deal with and could stop if they really wanted to. Reality shows that BFRBs are complex disorders related to obsessive-compulsive disorder that aren’t easy to stop.
Make a plan of what you can to do reach recovery
Having a game plan is a good idea, especially if you benefit from having direction. With a plan, you can make note of the tools, systems, and other ways you’ll work to achieve your BFRB recovery. To give a few examples, you can factor into your plan if you’ll make use of multiple ideologies, if you plan to join a support group, if you’ll follow motivational quotes (like we’ve been sharing to our Instagram), listen to podcasts, keep your hands busy, or journal.
Build your support system
The support system might end up being a BFRB support group you join, or maybe it’ll be close friends or family that you let in on this journey. Having someone you can check in with and who is cheering you on can have a positive impact on your recovery because then you’re not going at it alone.
Put your plan into action
That plan you just made? Put it into practice. Even if you only start with one thing, that’s one step to BFRB recovery.
Join a peer support group
Peer support groups offer a unique opportunity to be among those who get it in a safe space where you can discuss your BFRBs and the challenges you face. You can learn from each other and see that you’re not alone.
Try different recovery methods
There are a number of ways to approach recovering with your BFRB. There’s traditional treatment, BFRB coaching, self-help practices—these can each be valuable and have their own effectiveness. You might benefit from one or several, so it doesn’t hurt to give them a try.
Know that recovery isn’t linear
As much as we’d love to recover in an exclusively positive direction, recovery isn’t linear. There may be days where you do better than others, there may be times when you feel like you have setbacks, there may be times where you feel stuck. There are days where you may feel tired or uncomfortable or some other way. That’s normal! It’s all part of the process.
Have an open mind
This is perhaps one of the most important tips on this list. Recovery might not end up looking like what you expect or what you originally planned. Your goals may evolve and shift. You may not be able to return to who you were, which is okay. You can create a new version of yourself. Being able to pivot when your needs shift or the situation calls for it takes practice and may feel uncomfortable at first, but it’s a great skill to have and having an open mind can facilitate that.
Hopefully these have given you an idea of where you can start with approaching recovery and help give it a kick-start. Again, the process may end up looking completely different for you, but these are some ideas you can keep in mind as you go. Leaving out mention of stopping or accepting the BFRBs is intentional since everyone’s goals will be different. One is no less valid than the other.
Know that we’re rooting for you!