When Nothing Changes, Try Something New

Living with anorexia can feel like being trapped. You do the “right” things: therapy, meal plans, out-patient, and even higher levels of care. You work hard. You comply. Maybe you gain weight and you are told you are doing great. And yet the thoughts don’t really change. The constant mental noise about calories and weight still roar. The urge to overexercise keeps pulling at you.

When you’ve tried everything you were told would help—and you’re still stuck—it can be devastating. It’s not that you didn’t try hard enough. It’s that some approaches simply don’t reach the part of the brain that’s driving the illness.

At that point, trying something new, with proper supervision, isn’t reckless. It’s courageous.

Taking a chance on a different kind of anorexia treatment can feel terrifying. It’s asking you to question your beliefs, rules, and routines that have kept you alive. It may be counter to what your therapist or dietitian has told you. Just the thought of eating foods you have avoided for years is terrifying. But sometimes, real change only begins when you step outside what’s familiar—even when the familiar feels “safe.”

Trying something new doesn’t mean rejecting everything you’ve learned before. It means acknowledging an honest truth: what I’ve done so far hasn’t been enough to free my mind. And that honesty takes strength.

Recovery is not about perfection. It’s about movement—sometimes slow, sometimes uncertain—toward a life with more flexibility and more peace. When all else has failed to truly change your thoughts, giving yourself permission to explore a different path can be an act of self-respect. You know deep down that you deserve more than the life you have been living. Caroline Beckwith, keto peer coach, knows your fear of getting fat.  She will help you see that eating differently from what you have been doing does not mean you are going to get fat and may lead to freedom.

You’re not “giving up” by trying something new. You’re choosing hope over repetition. You’re choosing the possibility that your brain, your body, and your life can work differently.

And sometimes, that single choice—to take a chance—can be the beginning of real change.