Bridging the Gap: How to Stay Supported After Eating Disorder or Addiction Treatment
You’ve done the hard work. Your bags are packed, the discharge papers are signed, and the staff waves goodbye. You walk out the door… and suddenly, it’s just you again.
Here’s what most people don’t tell you: the transition after treatment can be one of the most vulnerable points in your recovery. The structure, support, and safety net you’ve had for weeks or months drops away almost overnight. And even if you’re “stepping down” gradually, the change can feel like whiplash.
For me, suddenly I was alone in my apartment again, the same environment where I engaged in behaviors, with only a handful of outpatient sessions to support. And very little to no support between them. It’s not a wonder I always relapsed post-treatment.
I know this part all too well, because I’ve lived it.
Plan for Discharge Before You Even Admit
One of the most important parts of your treatment isn’t actually during your stay. It’s what happens after. I can’t stress this enough: start planning your discharge before you even admit.
Think of it like preparing to cross a bridge. If you don’t have a plan for what’s on the other side, the bridge can feel like a dead end. Set yourself up for success with as much support as possible for when you return home. It took so much support for me to recover: a full treatment team with multiple therapists, a dietitian, a psychiatrist, and a specialized eating disorder doctor, a coach, a sponsor, a mentor (through the free mentorship programs found at Eating Disorder Foundation and ANAD), and free support groups (AA and EDF).
Why This Gap Is So Risky
Even with a step-down process, I often relapsed the very same day I discharged. I remember one discharge from a treatment center in Tulsa: I got back to the hotel that night, planning to drive back to St. Louis the next day, and drank and restricted — the drinking framed as a “celebration” of all the hard work I’d just done over the past three months. Makes total sense, right? To an alcoholic sure. To someone who just spent three months in treatment sober, not so much.
At the time, I lived alone with my cat. Between outpatient sessions, I didn’t have anyone I could rely on for in-the-moment support. Returning to my own housing was hard, too. I was back in my original environment with all its triggers. Sometimes, I’d try to redecorate or once I flipped my living room completely, just to make the space feel different. But even then, I still had to face the meals. And without accountability, I couldn’t do it. Often it came down to a “game time” decision of what am I going to do – eat or restrict. And the anxiety of the decision caused the choice to no longer feel like a choice.
The Reality of Going Home
Here’s what makes this stage so challenging:
Loss of structure – Supported mealtimes, therapy groups, check-ins. They vanish overnight.
Trigger-heavy environments – Going back to the same space and routines that fueled your disorder.
Reduced contact with providers – Sometimes only weekly or biweekly.
Assumptions from others – Friends or family may believe you’re “better” now and need less support. Or the “positive” comments on your body, while well intentioned can ignite old desires to lose the weight you worked so hard to restore.
Being in a weight-restored body – Often you leave treatment in a “new” body without time to adequately acclimate. Insurance is part of the problem, dropping you immediately when you reach your goal weight. You’re now in a body you can’t tolerate and that triggers old coping mechanisms to return to your body prior to treatment.
Setting Yourself Up for Success
You can make this transition less overwhelming, but it takes planning:
Build a support schedule before you leave – Have outpatient sessions, therapy, and accountability calls booked in advance. Even a coach is a great idea to provide that in-the-moment support.
Know your triggers – Identify your top three and create a written plan for how you’ll handle them.
Keep structure in your day – Maintain mealtimes (even stick to the times established in treatment), schedule in rest periods, and plan meaningful activities. While mealtimes are essential and the priority, creating a life worth living can make eating easier.
Create environmental changes – Small updates to your space can help, but they’re not a substitute for people-based support.
Have an accountability partner – Someone you can check in with daily.
Where a Coach Fits In
This is exactly where recovery coaching can make the difference.
As a coach, I help clients:
Build and stick to structure in those first crucial weeks.
Create practical coping plans for triggers.
Offer in-the-moment support between sessions through unlimited text support (so you don’t have to “white-knuckle” it until your next appointment).
Provide consistent accountability and encouragement without judgment.
If you want, we even can do meal support together to ensure meals continue to happen during your hardest times. Local clients, we even can go grocery shopping together or go through your closet or clothes shopping together.
You don’t have to walk out of treatment and figure it all out alone and you shouldn’t have to.
The Bottom Line
You’ve worked too hard to let this transition undo your progress. With the right plan, the right people, and the right tools in place before you leave treatment, you can keep moving forward: one day, one meal, one choice at a time.
If you’re preparing for discharge or recently stepped down, let’s talk. My 8-week aftercare coaching program is designed to bridge that gap and give you the support you need when it matters most.
Schedule your free consultation here.