Nervous about counselling

[Reinga]

Long story short, I have had a long history of disordered eating. I've been all over the spectrum, from extremely low calorie intake to bulimia to obsessive exercising and now binge eating which has left me obese.
I've never addressed this in the 15 years I've experienced it but today I suddenly got the courage out of nowhere to seek out professional help in the form of counselling sessions.
I'm so nervous about having to tell someone all the things I've kept hidden, worried that the money will be a waste and that I won't learn anything or that drawing so much attention to my eating habits will make me worse when its manageable at the moment.
Has 1:1 counselling worked for any one here or have I just opened up a big can of worms?

Apparently half of the success of therapy lies in the therapeutic relationship, so if you don't like the person you see, keep shopping until you find someone you click with and could feel safe to confide in.

Therapy is great and I would recommend you look for a psychotherapist who deals with trauma and eating disorders. They usually say on their website.

Good luck OP. It's a great thing you're about to do and I wish you well.

Thank you for being so kind @Characters.
I've been trying to talk myself out of it but I think deep down I know that I'm doing the right thing. The therapist specialises in ED so I should be in good hands. It's going to be difficult but most things that are worth doing are difficult.

My advice would be to give it time. There's no pressure to start talking about hard stuff straight away. If there's things you don't feel comfortable saying, that's ok. Your therapist will understand that you've got your reasons for finding it hard, that these are valid and you need to take it at your own pace.

I was incredibly lucky to end up with an NHS therapist that I really gelled with. But even then, it was weeks before I could say more than a few words and not shut down totally. A year on, I can tell her things that I'd never dreamed of speaking aloud, let alone to another person.

Do it. Don't expect miracles immediately, and if your first therapist's not your kind of person then switch until you find someone that is.