How to Avoid Self-Sabotage

Self-sabotage is a pattern many people struggle with, particularly when it comes to body image and food. When you learn how to recognize and overcome this destructive behavior, it can set you up for success, not only in recovery but in life as a whole.

The Threat From Within

So what is self-sabotage? It’s any behavior that prevents us from achieving our goals.

When it comes to body image and food, examples can include:

• Buying foods you know are triggering when you’re trying to build a healthier relationship and trust yourself with food.
• Weighing yourself daily when you’re working to focus less on the scale and more on self-acceptance.
• Spending time with people who don’t respect your recovery or goals.

For me, I used to eat relatively healthy all day, only to undo a day’s worth of “success” in a few minutes of nighttime binge eating.

It felt like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Even though I was eating “healthy” all day, part of me was already anticipating the binge later that night.

But my intention was never to eat well because I cared for myself or wanted to feel good.

I did it because I disliked my body and felt pressure to lose weight. As a result of that intention and mentality, the rules and restrictions I implemented in my life caused me to want to rebel on some level. Enter daily self-sabotage.

There’s no greater threat to recovery than self-sabotage. Our minds often struggle to let go of deeply ingrained patterns, such as using food to cope with difficult emotions. It can be easy to fall back into old ways of thinking and behaving without much warning.

For some people, identity can also play a role. If we are known as “the one who struggles with food,” we may unconsciously sabotage recovery to hold onto that familiar identity, especially when it’s all we’ve known for a long time.

Ways to Prevent Self-Sabotage

To prevent self-sabotage, you need to dig into the core beliefs that fuel your behaviors and patterns. Start by asking yourself: “How do I self-sabotage?” Bring awareness to your actions that sabotage your goals, and then reflect on the underlying beliefs that fuel those actions.

Begin noticing the actions that get in the way of your goals. Then reflect on the beliefs beneath those actions.

For example, maybe one way that you self-sabotage is by buying junk or processed food that you know is a trigger food for you. As you dig into the underlying belief that fuels this action, maybe you realize you do this because you “deserve a reward.”

However, that’s a surface-level belief, so you need to dig deeper. Why do you think you deserve a reward?

Maybe it’s because, deep down, you’re unhappy and have very little to look forward to. Maybe you’re lonely. After reflecting on this, you discover that the core belief that is triggering this self-sabotaging behavior is, “I’m not lovable, so what’s the point in trying?”

Once you hone in on that core belief, you can begin to shift it. Your behaviors, like binge eating or self-sabotage, are direct results of your beliefs, so you need to shift your beliefs first.

If feeling unlovable is at the root, you can start practicing self-compassion and self-acceptance. Ask yourself: What do I like about myself? What am I proud of? What challenges have I overcome? Where have I shown strength or resilience? Why would someone be lucky to know and care about me?

As your beliefs begin to shift, your behaviors are more likely to follow. Understanding why you’re prone to self-sabotage makes it easier to interrupt the pattern.

Prioritizing Your Recovery

When you’ve worked hard to reach a place of recovery from binge eating, it’s important to stay aware of challenges that could derail progress, self-sabotage being one of them. Fortunately, awareness alone can go a long way to help you overcome or even avoid something like self-sabotage.

Instead of focusing all of your time and energy on recovery alone, be cognizant of your mindset and any lingering issues or patterns that are still giving you trouble. The more in tune you are with your daily experience and thoughts, the better equipped you will be to prevent things like self-sabotage from throwing a wrench in your recovery.

Find Support That Strengthens Recovery

Recovery doesn’t have to be something you navigate alone. If self-sabotage or disordered eating patterns feel overwhelming, professional support can make a meaningful difference. Use Recovery.com to find treatment centers that align with your needs, and take the next step toward lasting recovery and self-trust.