Surviving January in Eating Disorder recovery

January is often framed as the “fresh start” month - a time for new goals, new habits, and sometimes a complete life overhaul. Everywhere you look, social media, magazines, and ads are full of “new year, new you” messaging, diet trends, and promises of optimisation. For many people, especially those in recovery from an eating disorder or struggling with body-image concerns, this pressure can feel overwhelming, triggering, or exhausting.

The good news? You don’t need to follow the crowd, and you certainly don’t need to change everything overnight. Recovery and wellbeing are ongoing processes, and January doesn’t have to be about perfection or pressure. Here are some practical, recovery-aligned strategies to help you navigate this month with calm, clarity, and compassion.

🎯 Set Intentions, Not Resolutions

Resolutions often encourage restriction, perfection, and “all-or-nothing” thinking. Instead, focus on gentle intentions that centre your values rather than external outcomes.

Try these approaches:

• 🌱 Choose one or two intentions for the year instead of a long list of goals.

• 💛 Focus on values that are meaningful to you, like connection, self-compassion, curiosity, and rest.

• 🕰 Remember that meaningful growth happens over time - changes don’t need to happen all at once.

Setting intentions keeps you connected to what truly matters, rather than the pressure of comparison or cultural expectations.

📵 Curate Your Media and Social Feeds

January can be particularly loud with diet culture messaging: “detox plans,” “quick fixes,” and extreme fitness challenges. Protect your mental space by being intentional about what you consume online.

Simple ways to curate your feeds:

• ❌ Unfollow or mute accounts that make you feel anxious, pressured, or self-critical.

• ✅ Follow accounts that promote body neutrality, recovery, and lived-experience perspectives.

• 📱 Consider short “social media detoxes” to create mental space and calm.

Being mindful about the media you consume reduces triggers and helps you maintain your own pace and focus.

🛤 Stay in Your Own Lane

It’s easy to compare yourself to others - friends, colleagues, or influencers, especially at the start of a new year. Comparison can fuel stress, shame, and the urge to “catch up.”

Ways to stay grounded in your own journey:

• 🌸 Reflect on your own progress rather than others’. Where you are now may be exactly where you need to be.

• 🏃 Focus on small, meaningful steps rather than trying to overhaul everything at once.

• 💡 Remember past achievements: think about what you would have wished for yourself in recent years - your current place might already be that.

Staying in your own lane reduces pressure and keeps recovery and growth at the forefront.

📝 Build Small, Grounding Rituals

Daily routines can be comforting and stabilising, especially in months when external pressures are high. Grounding rituals help reconnect with your body, mind, and values.

Ideas to try:

• ☕ Morning or evening reflection: a short 5-minute check-in with yourself.

• ✍️ Journalling prompts: reflect on your intentions, emotions, or experiences each day.

• 🌳 Spending time in nature: observe leaves, sky, textures, or sounds.

• 🌿 Sensory grounding: hold a warm cup of tea, use a calming scent, or listen to music that brings comfort.

These small practices remind you that wellbeing isn’t about perfection - it’s about connection, self-care, and intention.

🔍 Notice and Name Diet Culture Messages

Awareness is one of the simplest, yet most powerful tools for resisting diet culture. Everywhere we look - on social media, in magazines, in apps, or even in “wellness” programs, there are messages telling us that we need to look, eat, or move in a certain way to be healthy, happy, or successful.

It’s important to remember that profit and financial gain are often at the centre of diet culture, not true wellbeing. Diet plans, supplements, fitness gadgets, and wellness challenges are designed to sell products and services, not to meet your individual needs. These messages can feel convincing, but they don’t reflect your personal health or recovery journey.

Try this exercise:

• When you see a message about dieting, body-shaming, or optimisation, pause and name it: “This is diet culture, not truth.”

• Ask yourself: Is this message supporting my wellbeing, or is it designed to make someone else money?

• Reflect on whether the advice aligns with your values, your recovery, and your body’s needs, or if it’s just external noise.

  
  

Recognising the commercial motives behind these messages helps you create distance, protect your recovery mindset, and make choices rooted in your own needs and values - not in what the wellness industry wants you to buy or achieve.

💡 Final Thoughts

January doesn’t need to be a month of restriction, comparison, or pressure. By:

• Setting gentle intentions 🌱

• Curating your social media and media intake 📵

• Staying in your own lane 🛤

• Building grounding daily rituals 📝

• Noticing and naming diet culture messages 🔍

…you can navigate the new year with clarity, safety, and self-compassion.

Recovery and growth happen over time, and there’s no need to rush. The start of a new year is just one day on your journey. Being kind to yourself and staying connected to what matters most is the best “reset” you can give yourself.