Why Eating Disorder recovery feels so overwhelming
“I didn’t expect recovery to feel this overwhelming.”
This is something I often hear from clients and it’s really understandable. From the outside, recovery is often measured by eating more regularly, weight restoring, medical stability improving. Which is good news.
But inside, many people feel more anxious, more emotional, more unsettled than they did before.
There is a reason for this. And it makes sense.
Adequate nutrition changes the way the brain and body function
When someone has been under-nourished or eating inconsistently, the body adapts in order to survive.
Energy is conserved. Non-essential systems are downregulated. Emotional intensity, bodily sensation, and even hunger cues can become muted. As nutrition becomes more consistent, the brain quite literally comes back online. From a dietitian’s perspective, this is a necessary and positive shift. But for the person living inside the body, it can feel confronting.
As nourishment improves, people often notice:
stronger emotions
increased anxiety before it settles
busier thoughts
heightened awareness of the body
In reality, the system now has the energy to feel and respond.
Recovery removes familiar coping before new safety is established
For many people, an eating disorder has functioned as more than a set of behaviours.
It may have:
numbed overwhelming feelings
created structure and predictability
offered a sense of control
reduced internal chaos
provided identity or focus during difficult periods
When recovery begins, these strategies are gradually removed, often before new ways of coping are fully in place.
From both a nutritional and nervous system lens, this creates a vulnerable gap.
You’re eating more.
Your body is changing.
Your brain has more energy.
But the systems that once helped you manage life are no longer there in the same way. The focus needs to be on learning new ways to cope.
Weight restoration can feel harder before it feels easier
Weight restoration is a medical and nutritional priority in eating disorder recovery. It supports organ function, hormonal health, bone density, and cognitive capacity.
And yet, emotionally, it can be one of the most difficult phases.
As weight restores, people may experience:
increased body awareness
intensified fear or distress
a loss of control they weren’t prepared for
questions about identity and self-worth
This is where body image support, core belief work and containment matter deeply.
The steps to focus on when recovery feels overwhelming
1. Keep nutrition consistent, even when anxiety rises
The instinct when things feel overwhelming is often to pull back on food or loosen structure. But what I see clinically is that this only helps in the short term. The brain doesn’t learn anything new. It just learns that food was something to be feared.
Keeping nutrition consistent, even when every part of you doesn’t want to, is one of the ways we gently teach the brain a different story. That even with anxiety present, the body can eat. And that nothing terrible actually happens.
The goal here isn’t to feel calm or confident around food. The goal here is just to keep going with the eating plan.
2. Emotion regulation
For many people, one of the hardest parts of recovery is what comes up emotionally.If the eating disorder once helped numb, distract from, or contain feelings, it makes sense that things feel more intense when those behaviours loosen. Emotion regulation is about staying with the emotions, naming them and being with them. On a practical level this might look like grounding back into the body: placing your feet on the floor, taking a few steady breaths, or orienting to what’s around you. Other times, it’s recognising that an emotion needs support and reaching out to someone rather than trying to manage it alone.
This is a skill that takes time! Over time, the emotions will feel less overwhelming.
3. Keep up with supports
Motivation and confidence are unreliable during this phase. Rather than ask ‘do I feel ready for this?’, a helpful question could be ‘how can I feel supported enough to do this?.
I often notice clients step back from support when things are hard, but this is usually the sticking point in recovery where people need more holding, more structure, more check-ins, more reassurance.
You may need:
psychological support to help process what’s coming up
clear meal structure to reduce decision fatigue
external accountability