Express Your Self

EDIT™ Principle #3 – Express Your Self

The third EDIT™ Principle involves emotional awareness, being curious about the messages of emotions, and learning healthy coping skills – instead of engaging in eating disorder behaviors due to the inability to regulate emotions or to tolerate intense emotions. We need to guide clients to stop “putting on a happy face” – that there are safe ways to experience ALL emotions. The EDIT™ process involves having ED-IT dialogues with clients. Here’s what this might sound like:

ED (false self) – “Just put on a happy face, and try to fit in.”

The false self is very good at pretending that everything is “fine,” and acting in a manner to evoke acceptance from others. The false self may be compensating for past experiences where it was unsafe to show certain emotions. Eating disorder behaviors serve to keep emotions hidden. Any expressed emotions are “safe” masks the false self wears.

IT (True Self): “I am grateful for my range of emotions, and freedom of expression.”

The True Self has insightful emotional awareness, healthy emotional expression, and safe emotional vulnerability. There is an ability to experience intense emotions, using a variety of coping skills as needed. All emotions are authentic expressions of the True Self.

Try this “taste” of EDIT™ – The Mask

The false self is attempting to be an “ideal self” to please others and be accepted, while hiding a “shadow self” – any qualities which may result in criticism or rejection. Eating disorder behaviors are hidden in the “shadow,” but this is where the True Self has been hidden, too. Click on the image below for a downloadable worksheet which you can use to guide your clients to uncover the “gold” in the shadow.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT

©2018 by Dr. Dorie McCubbrey. Dr. Dorie is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Licensed Addiction Counselor who is passionate about training professionals to effectively guide clients in recovery from eating disorders, through her Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ Certified program. She also meets with clients at her treatment center, Positive Pathways PLLC, located in Evergreen Colorado. Learn more at: https://www.drdorie.com

Article may be reprinted with this author bio.

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Want more that this “taste” of EDIT™? Dr. Dorie is passionate about her method of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ to help people overcome eating disorders and addictions.  She provides customized counseling for eating disorders and alcohol / drug addiction at her Positive Pathways treatment center in Evergreen, Colorado – and EDIT™ eating disorder training and certification for coaches and clinicians worldwide. CALL 303-494-1975 – EMAIL DR. DORIE – GET CERTIFIED