I’m going out on a limb here, but I don’t think anyone who hasn’t lived with an eating disorder can begin to understand the level of distress and discomfort that is experienced when we sit down to have a meal; even if it is a meal we have consciously chosen to eat to help us in our recovery.  I remember the constant battle back and forth with the “voice” in my head at the beginning of my recovery, the shame and guilt that I experienced every time I picked up my fork and then the relief once I managed to put the food in my mouth.  But I’m not sure I could have overcome those battles without finding some healthy coping techniques to help me during mealtimes. 

I’m not a fan of using TV or scrolling on the phone as a healthy technique during mealtimes, from my perspective they don’t enable anyone to be fully present and sit through discomfort in a way that we can learn from.  I used things that really required me to engage my brain (and thus quieten the Ana “voice” like doing jigsaws, word-searches and puzzles.  Sometimes mealtimes took twice as long to get through, but allowing my brain to focus on something other than the act of eating, especially during the early days of my recovery, was vital for me.

With that in mind, I thought it might be useful to offer a couple of options here for anyone who is experiencing the same issue.  There is a word-search book and a sudoku book, both available for download/. They might help you, they may not.  You may have your own tools and techniques to help with mealtimes.  But if you are curious, why not try these out.  What do you have to lose?