Preface (Big Book vxi)

Following such suggestions, and relying on others’ experience, strength and hope, we may do well for days, weeks, or months—only to find ourselves right back in tired, old habits that don’t serve us or anyone else. Indeed, a “normal” recovery often involves what can seem like a distressingly long period of back-and-forth, as we learn more about what changes are truly required. But mistakes that lead us back to old behaviors should not be feared: they can be powerful tools for building a solid foundation if we are consistently open and honest about our expectations, resentments, fears, self-pity, shame, guilt, confusion, frustration, and despair—all the messy emotions that drove us into our eating disorders in the first place. This then opens us up to the difficult process of changing the thoughts that underlie these emotions. To maintain progress, we need as much support as we can get.