10 Tips for Navigating Eating Disorder Treatment Burnout

Recovering from an eating disorder is often a long, complex journey--one that requires immense strength, vulnerability, and persistence. Whether you’re in therapy, following a meal plan, attending support groups, or managing co-occurring mental health challenges, the emotional toll can become overwhelming. This is especially true when progress feels slow or stagnant. If you’re feeling drained, hopeless, or resistant to continuing treatment, you might be experiencing treatment burnout, and you’re not alone.

Burnout doesn't mean you're failing; it means you're human. Here are 10 practical and compassionate tips to help you navigate treatment burnout and reconnect with your recovery.

1. Acknowledge Burnout Without Shame

The first step is to name what you're feeling. Saying “I’m burnt out” isn’t a weakness; it’s a sign of self-awareness. Shame often fuels eating disorders, so try to meet your burnout with the same compassion you’d offer a friend. If you’ve been battling an ED for a while now, burnout is normal and happens. 

2. Talk to Your Treatment Team

Your therapist, dietitian, and/or doctor can't support you with something that they’re not aware of. Let them know what’s hard right now... whether it’s emotional fatigue, feeling stuck, or questioning the process. A good team will work with you to adapt the plan to better suit where you are mentally and emotionally.

3. Set Micro-Goals

Recovery doesn’t have to be a straight climb. On hard days, shift focus from big milestones to tiny, meaningful wins, like eating your minimum safe meal plan, showing up to therapy even if you don’t talk much, or resisting negative behavior for a period of time. Progress is progress.

4. Take Breaks--Intentionally

Stepping back from certain treatment elements can be helpful when done mindfully and with support. Discuss your thoughts around a mini break with your treatment team. This could include reducing the frequency of therapy appointments for a little bit, taking a pause from the momentum of ERP, or allowing support systems to hold you more accountable, unloading some of the burden from your own shoulders while you build your power back.

A break is not the same as giving up; it’s a way to rest and re-calibrate.

5. Reconnect With Your "Why"

What made you start recovery? Was it the dream of traveling freely? Being present in relationships? Reclaiming or finding your identity? Revisit your motivations often, especially during burnout. Writing them down or creating a vision board can help anchor you.

6. Diversify Your Support

Sometimes treatment feels repetitive, and maybe you could use support from a new modality. Exploring new support systems (like peer support groups, expressive arts therapy, or nature-based healing) can refresh your experience and renew your motivation. Ask your therapist to bring art processing into sessions, some (safe and appropriate) movement therapies, or somatic practices. Add variety to verbal processing and talk therapy.

7. Limit Comparisons

Recovery isn’t linear, and it’s deeply personal. Whether it’s comparing weight, food choices, or timelines, comparison steals joy and peace. Un-follow social media accounts that trigger you, and curate a digital space that supports your healing. Practice cognitive defusion and re-framing your comparison thoughts. Focus on your values, not outcomes or results.

8. Celebrate Non-Scale Victories

Your success isn’t measured by weight or food alone. Did you laugh today? Speak kindly to yourself? Ask for help? All of these are valid markers of healing. Track and honor these often-overlooked wins.

9. Practice Emotional Rest

Sometimes, it’s not the work of recovery itself but the emotional intensity that’s exhausting. Try scheduling in emotional rest--quiet time with no pressure to process or perform. This might look like journaling, meditating, or simply watching a show that brings comfort.

10. Remember: You Are Allowed to Be Tired

Burnout doesn’t erase all the effort you’ve made; it highlights how hard you’ve been working. You are allowed to be tired. You are allowed to rest. And you are absolutely allowed to continue healing at your own pace.

Final Thoughts...

Burnout is not the end of your recovery story. It’s a natural pause, a signal to reevaluate, rest, and reset. You deserve a life beyond the eating disorder, and that includes space for setbacks, softness, and support. Keep going. Not perfectly. Just steadily.

You’re worth it.

If you or someone you love is struggling with an eating disorder, help is available. Contact a professional, reach out to The Alliance for Eating Disorders, or talk to your healthcare provider. You are not alone.