Why You Can Be Doing Everything Right and Still Feel Worse
Have you ever hit that point where you’re doing recovery “right” and instead of relief, you feel like absolute garbage?
Like… you gave up the behaviors, you’re eating regularly, you’re showing up to sessions, and somehow everything inside you feels louder, messier, and harder to deal with than before.
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This episode is about that part. The part no one really warns you about. The phase where recovery doesn’t feel freeing, it feels destabilizing. Where you might quietly wonder if you made a mistake, or if maybe the eating disorder actually worked better than this.
I talk about why that reaction makes total sense, what’s actually happening in your emotional world, and why feeling worse does not mean you’re failing. If anything, it usually means the eating disorder is no longer doing its job of numbing, organizing, and keeping things contained. And yeah, that job mattered, even if it hurt you.
We also get into what not to do when you hit this stage, because this is the point where people are most likely to pull back, scale down support, or convince themselves they’re fine when they’re very much not. This episode is meant to help you understand what’s going on so you don’t panic, quit, or turn back right when things are actually moving.
In this episode, I’m talking about…
Why you can be doing everything “right” in recovery and still feel worse.
How eating disorders function as emotional regulators.
What happens internally when you remove eating disorder behaviors.
Emotional flooding, anxiety spikes, and feeling out of control in early recovery.
Why missing your eating disorder doesn’t mean you want it back.
How increased thoughts and sensations can mean less dissociation, not deterioration.
Identity loss and feeling untethered when the eating disorder is no longer central.
Common mistakes people make when recovery starts to feel worse.
Why dropping out of treatment at this stage can derail healing.
The importance of maintaining structure and consistent support.
Learning to name emotions without trying to fix them.
Building tolerance for uncomfortable emotions instead of pushing them away.
Why this phase of recovery is temporary and why it actually means you’re on the right track.
Tweetable Quotes
“Feeling worse does not mean that you're failing. It means everything is changing.” - Rachelle Heinemann
“Part of what the initial stages of recovery does, is that it removes your capacity to cope before it builds your capacity to cope better.” - Rachelle Heinemann
“You're not worse. You're just less dissociated, which is a sign that things are actually headed in the right direction.” - Rachelle Heinemann
“If you're willing to stay where it's uncomfortable, I guarantee you will find a lot more on the other side.” - Rachelle Heinemann
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Related Episodes
Episode 146. Caring Less About What Others Think
Episode 151. Body Image is the Last to Go
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Hey there! I’m Rachelle, the host of the Understanding Disordered Eating Podcast. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, I work with clients to make sense of life’s messy emotional experiences.
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