Causes and treatment methods for bulimia. Bulimia. Causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of the disease Fighting bulimia on your own

Bulimia is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a sharp increase in appetite and painful hunger. Most often, young women are prone to the disease. Weak-willed patients during illness are not able to control the amount of food consumed. The disease is provoked by certain diseases of the endocrine and central nervous systems, as well as various mental disorders.

Ask yourself the following questions. The more “yes” you say, the more likely you are to suffer from an eating disorder.

Mini-eating disorder test

• Are you obsessed with your body and your weight?
• Does food dominate your life?
• Are you afraid that once you start eating, you won't be able to stop?
• Do you feel unhealthy after eating?
• Do you feel guilty, ashamed, or depressed after eating?
• Do you use laxatives or diuretics for weight control?

Main symptoms of bulimia

The main symptoms of bulimia are:

• regular use of diuretics;
• excessive concern about one's body;
• grueling exercise for weight loss;
• the patient is in constant fear of gaining extra pounds;
• abuse of laxatives and emetics;
• destabilization of behavior, inability to control emotions;
• uncontrolled eating to the point of abdominal pain;
• taking all kinds of dietary supplements to promote weight loss;
• inducing vomiting after eating;
• strict diet or fasting;
• frequent attacks of despondency and nervous tension.

Causes of bulimia

The causes of the disease include psychological problems, including:

• Low self-esteem. The patient suggests that he is not beautiful enough, flawed and terrible;
• Various stressful situations;
• Depressive states.

Various diets, a low-calorie diet, family and social pressure may also be reasons. In addition, patients claim that they no longer control the amount of food they eat after a diet that severely restricts nutrition.

Consequences of bulimia for the body

Only at the level of a person’s mental organization does an unhealthy dependence on food cause internal discomfort and inconvenience. Constantly thinking about food, the patient is unable to work productively and enjoy life. Patients try to hide the signs of the disease from others by any means.

Constant cleansing harms the body

Vomiting immediately after eating can eliminate, at best, only 50% of the calories consumed. This is because calorie absorption begins the moment you put food in your mouth. Laxatives and diuretics are even less effective. Laxatives get rid of only 10% of the calories eaten, and the use of diuretics does not lead to anything at all. You may weigh less after using them, but only as a result of water loss, not true weight loss.

Patients try to refrain from eating in the presence of strangers; they hide diuretics and laxatives from relatives and friends. These are the main reasons why pathology has a negative impact on a sick and weakened body. Such consequences are sometimes irreversible, they contribute to the development of chronic diseases, even leading to death.

Severe consequences of bulimia:

• Dehydration of the body;
• Infertility;
• Cessation of menstruation or disruption of the menstrual cycle;
• Intestinal motility disorders;
• Ulcer, gastritis, gastrointestinal diseases;
• Caries, destruction of tooth enamel;
• Deterioration of the condition of hair, skin and nails;
• Diseases of the esophagus due to regular exposure of the esophagus to stomach acid.

Almost all patients experience these consequences. However, the disease can affect various human organs depending on the individual characteristics of the body.

How to get rid of bulimia on your own?

Treatment

It is necessary to set vital goals for yourself, which you subsequently strive to achieve. This is the first step to help a bulimic sufferer get distracted.

You need to regularly maintain a positive emotional attitude and enjoy life. Don’t reproach yourself for the amount of food you eat, love yourself for who you are. Find yourself an interesting activity, develop your abilities, pick up a hobby.

Adjust and adhere to the established diet, refrain from snacking between main meals. Do not put your health at risk by using various extreme diets.

When overeating causes you to worry about your figure or weight, try to establish a connection between these criteria and your food cravings, as well as your emotional state.

Avoid unnecessary use of diuretics, laxatives and emetics. After all, such actions in the future will certainly lead to disastrous consequences that will require long and expensive treatment.

It is necessary to maintain a healthy psychological attitude in the family, and family members should treat with understanding the person who suffers from the disease and is most often susceptible to emotional changes and depression.

You cannot take any medications on your own. To reduce psychological stress with the help of medications, the patient should consult a doctor. The doctor may prescribe antidepressants to the patient.

The disease takes a very long time to be treated, so you need to try to rebuild your life and be patient. If this causes difficulties, it is recommended to seek the help of a qualified specialist.

How to help a person with bulimia?

If you suspect that a friend or family member is suffering from an eating disorder, the first thing to do is get the sufferer to talk to you. Sincere support and empathy can play a positive role in the treatment of bulimia. Remember that this disorder should not be ignored. A person’s physical and emotional health is at risk.

Be prepared for the fact that your admonitions will not stop the destructive process. In particularly difficult cases, only a specialist can provide qualified assistance. But support, not moralizing, but sincere participation can significantly shorten the path to recovery.

Video about treatment methods for bulimia

Diseases that are based on a mental disorder are quite difficult to treat, since all symptoms are only an external reflection of ongoing processes. In such cases, treatment of somatic conditions is ineffective without restoring the psyche, since the fight against the effect is useless unless the causes are eliminated. The problem is that it is extremely difficult to find out the cause of the disease - often the patient himself is not able to clearly explain when and how it all began, what served as the impetus for the emergence of a stable reflex. Moreover, it is generally difficult for a person to notice any deviations in himself, and when he does pay attention to them, he explains it as a common habit. To contact a doctor, the problem must begin to seriously bother the patient, so treatment begins when the disease is at an advanced stage. Often, a visit to the clinic is initiated by relatives or friends who convince the patient to seek help.

Bulimia is one of the types of eating disorder, a behavioral syndrome expressed in a reaction to stress, neuroses or other emotional states in the form of feelings of extreme hunger and the absorption of large amounts of food. The patient does not feel full; he eats until painful sensations appear.

The consequence of this is a feeling of shame for such manifestations, attempts to get rid of what was eaten by inducing vomiting, the use of laxatives, attempts to starve or exhaust oneself with physical activity.

Important! Bulimia should not be confused with a similar disease - psychogenic (compulsive) overeating.

The similarities are very great, but the difference between them is that when overeating, a person tries to close himself off from problems in this way, and with bulimia, he simply experiences severe hunger, alternating with attempts to correct the situation by radical methods. This behavior has a detrimental effect on:

1. Esophagus. Frequent passage of vomit causes a burn of digestive acid to the mucous membrane.
2. Oral cavity. The condition of tooth enamel deteriorates, the mucous membrane of the gums is damaged from exposure to gastric juice during vomiting, and constant irritation of the larynx is observed.
3. Impaired liver and kidney function.
4. Frequent use of laxatives causes intestinal disorders.
5. Metabolic disorders that provoke heart disease, menstrual irregularities in women, and there may be internal bleeding.
6. Lack of salts and minerals, causing cramps or involuntary muscle contractions.
7. Depressive states.

The greatest danger of the disease is that it is very difficult to recognize in the early stages, and the patient is not able to control his behavior and is not aware that he is sick. Most often they try to explain this by “features of the body,” “habit,” etc. At the same time, attempts to neutralize their actions are very active, they are used very intensively and in large doses. All this against the backdrop of constant stress due to a feeling of shame for one’s behavior. A “vicious circle” arises - nervous tension provokes attacks of hunger, which cause attempts to get rid of what was eaten and somehow neutralize what happened, causing new stress. Thus, the disease progresses, simultaneously destroying internal organs and causing additional destructive processes.

It is they who often become the reasons for visiting a doctor, and the main problem remains unrecognized, continuing its effect until the moment when it becomes completely obvious. The patient monitors his weight, external signs are almost completely absent. The disease is purely female; men suffer from this disease very rarely, although no one has yet been able to link this circumstance to gender. Many experts attribute this situation to the characteristics of female psychology, increased emotionality and susceptibility to stress.

Treatment methods for bulimia

Medication methods will not solve the problem, since its essence lies in the psychological plane. In most cases, treatment of the disease takes place on an outpatient basis; hospitalization is used only in the most advanced cases, when the consequences of the disease require urgent measures.

For treatment, a complex method is used, combining psychoanalysis, behavioral therapy, and only last but not least, medication. The main task that arises during treatment is to help a person realize the presence of a problem, its signs and symptoms. The patient must learn to analyze his well-being detachedly, without emotional stress, and control his behavior and way of thinking.

The main issue becomes a person’s ability to understand and accept his condition, take control of his experiences and change his overall outlook on things. We must learn to break down a problem into its component parts and deal with each of them separately:

1. Monitor your diet, monitor the frequency and amount of food you eat.
2. Stop paying too much attention to your appearance, in particular, don’t be afraid of getting too fat.
3. Stop using laxatives and do not consider playing sports as a means to hide your illness.

The most important step in solving the problem is understanding that this is a disease that can be overcome to a greater extent by personal efforts than by medications and procedures. Specialists are required to help in acquiring the correct psychological attitude, which eliminates the occurrence of stressful situations and emotional breakdowns due to what is happening. The patient must understand that his problem is not an isolated incident, this has happened before and will continue to happen, therefore it must be treated as a nuisance, but not as a tragedy.

Correcting the patient’s interpersonal relationships is of great importance, in particular, changing the degree of his responsibility to others. A person must realize that the opinion of others is only someone's opinion, and in no way an order or obligation. Group therapy has a very great effect in this regard, where people with the same problems begin to gradually change their attitudes and increase their self-esteem.

Family therapy is no less important, helping to identify and eliminate the sources of pathological attitudes in thinking, and organize close and positive control over the patient’s condition.

Drug treatment comes down to prescribing antidepressants that support the patient’s psychological state, as well as eliminating side problems - blood pressure, dysfunction of the kidneys, liver, intestines, etc.

Self-treatment of bulimia

If it is not possible to turn to specialists, you can and should try to heal yourself. First of all, you should have a clear understanding of the magnitude of the problem and the fact that you have to fight with yourself. Therefore, help and support from household members is highly desirable. But the main burden, of course, falls on the shoulders of the patient himself, and one must be prepared for this. You need to fully define your feelings and accept that you have a disease. Not a habit, not a feature of the body, not a condition, but a disease that must be overcome, not with the help of drugs or diet, but by changing the way of thinking and attitude towards oneself and others.

The main postulates that you need to instill in yourself:

1. Understanding your condition, realizing that it is a disease.
2. Refusal to hush up the problem, calmly discuss it with friends and family members.
3. Getting rid of the fear of being misunderstood or judged by others. Understanding that this is not the most important thing in the current situation.
4. Recognition of the complexity of the problem that has arisen and the need for considerable effort to resolve it.
5. Willingness to make certain sacrifices in the healing process - remember that only bitter medicine heals.
6. Determination to overcome your illness, a strong desire to return to normal.

Important! All attitudes must constantly be strengthened and nourished, because any weakening of self-control threatens the loss of all achieved successes.

In parallel with psychological treatment, you need to re-teach your body to react correctly to the amount of food eaten and to give signals of satiety. Here you need constant self-control, recording the amount of food consumed. Everyone knows how much he should eat at one time, and we must build on this amount, not allowing the average values ​​to be exceeded. It is useful to know the number of calories in common foods and the nutritional value of the food you eat. You need to be prepared for the fact that at first you won’t feel full and feed yourself purely mathematically, according to the principle “as much is enough.” You shouldn't expect quick results; you shouldn't improve; it will be a very long and difficult process. Usually it lasts from 2-3 years, it is impossible to predict anything more precisely, everyone has their own, individual period.

Experts advise at first to create a meal schedule that is more frequent, but with small portions, about 100-200 grams. In this way, the stomach stops stretching, it gradually reduces its volume and begins to get used to normal amounts of digested contents. At the same time, it is recommended to eliminate all distractions - TV, music, etc., in order to fully concentrate on thoughtful eating. You need to chew it thoroughly, feel the taste, smell, reviving all the body’s reactions.

A proper diet is a very important factor in fighting the disease. Following the recommendations of nutritionists for bulimics will help speed up the process of restoring body functions and establish the signaling system of the digestive complex. Let's look at the list of foods that can and shouldn't be consumed during treatment:

Recommended	Not recommended
Vegetable light soups	Fatty, floury or salty foods
Chicken bouillon	Semolina
Oatmeal, pearl barley	Fresh bread
Vegetable purees	Mayonnaise
Rye bread or bran bread	Vegetable oil
Fresh vegetables	Spices
Fresh herbs	Spicy dishes
Dairy products – kefir, cottage cheese, yogurt	Sour vegetables, fruits
Water, subsequently – compote	Coffee Tea

As can be seen from the table, the composition of the preferred products completely falls into the light, dietary category. This list is based on the need to remove the load from the gastrointestinal tract, ensure easier functioning of the entire digestive system and, most importantly, create conditions for contraction of the stomach.

Video - Bulimia Nervosa

Medication support

The psychological assistance measures used can be significantly enhanced by drugs that relieve stress and nervous tension. Excessive stress on the psyche will not bring any benefit; the use of antidepressants is a completely appropriate addition; the only condition that must be met is a consultation with a doctor. Only he will be able to correctly prescribe the dosage and determine whether this or that drug can be used in this case.

Most often used Fluoxetine And Phenibut. Both are classified as antidepressants, but act in the opposite way - Fluoxetine works as a stimulant, activating and mobilizing the nervous system. Phenibut, on the contrary, is calming and relaxing, which makes it most convenient to take before bed. With these differences, both medications promote resistance to hunger pangs.

Phenibut for the treatment of bulimia
Fluoxetine for bulimia

Folk ways to combat bulimia

Traditional medicine has in its arsenal some means to fight the disease. These include:

1. Garlic infusion. Several slices are grated on a fine grater and poured with boiled water at room temperature. Leave for about a day, after which you take one tablespoon before bed.
2. Linseed oil. Before eating, you should drink 20 ml of oil.
3. Wormwood infusion. A teaspoon of dry herb is poured with boiling water (1 cup). Drink 1 tbsp. Take a spoon half an hour before meals.
4. Infusion of mint with parsley. A mixture is made from equal parts of dried mint and parsley, ground into powder and poured with boiling water (1 tbsp mixture per 250 ml of boiling water). The infusion calms the feeling of hunger and lasts for about 2 hours.
5. Decoction of figs and plums. About 500 g is poured with three liters of water and cooked until about 500 g of water remains. Drink half a glass, four times a day.
6. Celery decoction. About 20 g of celery are poured into 250 ml of water and boiled for 15 minutes. The serving is for three doses before meals.

Video - How to treat bulimia

How long does treatment last?

Experts never determine the healing time in advance, which is explained by the complexity of the problem and the large differences in the psychology of different people. Many factors influence the condition of the body, how advanced the disease is, age, personality traits, weight, etc. The combination of all these features largely determines the intensity and duration of treatment. It usually takes about 2-3 years, and this is not an exaggerated period - the problem is complex and insidious. Any weakening of the regime, deviation from the chosen treatment order may negate all previous efforts and you will have to start all over again. In addition, it is not always possible to say unequivocally that the disease has receded, everything is behind us. The final decision is the prerogative of the patient himself, but he can also make mistakes, wishful thinking.

Psychological problems are insidious, they can return even if it seems that they are gone forever. Nevertheless, positive changes are noticeable quite clearly, and the resulting habit of self-control is a guarantee against relapse.

What to eat after finishing treatment

So, all the problems are behind us, life is wonderful. And now everything is possible. Or is it not? The opinions of doctors here agree that you should not immediately start eating all previously forbidden foods, since a sharp change in diet in itself is quite harmful; it can provoke, if not a return of past problems, then create the preconditions for it. At the same time, there is such a point of view: everything that is prohibited is most desirable. The stronger the ban, the more you want. For these cases, it is recommended to use a regime of reasonable consumption - you don’t need to drive yourself to obsessive visions, you just need to take and eat what you want, but in moderation. In this way, you can relieve the psychological stress that arises from the ban and save yourself from fighting desires. In addition, after a long diet, the body itself will not accept anything unnecessary; it will certainly give a signal that this product is undesirable. A little bit of everything - this should be the motto for everyone involved in a regular diet, and this can easily be attributed not only to bulimia, but also to most other ailments.

Related Posts

In this article you will learn everything about treating bulimia on your own. Most likely, what you read about you have never heard of before. Only after reading this article in its entirety will you be able to put all the pieces of the puzzle in your head and make a conscious decision to say goodbye to bulimia forever.

Drug treatment for bulimia consists only of suppressing the desire to eat and suppressing anxiety with the help of antidepressants. But suppression does not cure bulimia, but only temporarily dulls the feeling of hunger.
Psychology works with the causes of the disease, that is, it raises all the problems that caused bulimia and solves them. We can say that medicine and psychology in this sense work opposite to each other - medicine suppresses, and psychology, on the contrary, raises to the surface and works through.

Therefore, the only possible way to treat bulimia is psychological work with its cause. How to find this reason and eliminate it - read in this article.

Bulimia is a disease based on food addiction. A patient with bulimia, as a rule, eats in large quantities without controlling himself, and then induces vomiting or drinks laxatives so as not to retain a single drop of what he has eaten. At the beginning of the disease, the bulimic thinks that he is coming to some kind of solution to the problem, punishing himself for what he has eaten by flushing food down the toilet, because he can eat as much as he can while maintaining his figure. But over time, he comes to the understanding that he is not solving the problem, but is only aggravating it. Unfortunately, by this point he is no longer able to stop.

4 Psychological Causes of Bulimia

Perhaps all of our personal problems come from childhood. Bulimia is a psychological disease and is usually generated by negative characteristics of upbringing. What kind of parenting mistakes can give rise to bulimia? I present to you four psychological causes of bulimia and four steps to freeing yourself from them.

Reason #1: Low self-esteem is bulimia's best friend

Low self-esteem is the most favorable environment for the development of bulimia. Therefore, most bulimics are people with low or low self-esteem. is formed in childhood. It increases if the child is given compliments, praised, encouraged, paid attention to successes, positively assessed appearance, actions, character, characteristics of the inner world, talents and skills.

Self-esteem also depends on how much the child is loved and how this love is shown. If a child lacks the love, attention, participation, warmth and care of his parents, this leads to the formation of low self-esteem. And this, in turn, can become one of the causes of bulimia.

Reason #2: Bad relationship with mom

Most psychologists agree that the cause of bulimia in a girl is a difficult relationship with her mother. There may be a close connection between them and a seemingly warm relationship, but if you look closely, their love is pathological. A mother can sincerely wish only the best for her daughter, raising her so that she is always the best in everything.

She does everything to ensure that her daughter is at her best, is an excellent student, the most successful and talented. This is also expressed in the desire for the daughter to look the best, to have an ideal figure, to be the most beautiful, slender, fashionable and stylish. Mom wants her daughter to be perfect.

In fact, these successes are needed not by the daughter, but by the mother. Mom herself was not accepted as a child for who she was. And the daughter, afraid of disappointing her mother, resorts to various tricks in order to achieve greater heights through sacrifice. And this is all in anticipation of approval, praise from the mother, in the expectation that the mother will be proud of her daughter. But mom most likely will not praise or be proud. For such a mother, praising is the same as coddling, and she will be afraid to spoil her child, so waiting for approval from her is almost useless. And it’s impossible to be perfect, but mom is chasing perfection. If her daughter has any failures, the mother may criticize or simply pretend not to notice her.

As a result, the girl herself begins to show increased demands on herself and gets upset every time she gets a B or only takes second place in the Olympiad. When she achieves even the highest results, it only calms her down for a while, but she no longer feels happy about it. After all, her mother did not accept her for who she was, with the exception of only those rare moments when her daughter lived up to her expectations.

So, not receiving the approval and pride of her mother, the girl begins to feel resentment, anger, and also a feeling of guilt for not being able to become what they wanted her to be - ideal. And the girl becomes guiltlessly guilty for her lack of success. And the feeling of guilt gives rise to a desire to punish oneself, which is often expressed in the form of bulimia.

Thus, bulimia is born in conditions of a constant desire to achieve more, in a race for achievements. Such relationships with parents give rise to a loss of contact with the child’s own emotions, with his needs and, accordingly, lead to the inability to realize his desires. Often such children may not even know what they really want, because they have never been asked about it.

In most cases, bulimia is caused by a negative relationship with a parent of the same sex, but where there is a rule, there is always an exception. Therefore, a similar upbringing scheme can be formed between a father and daughter.

Reason #3: Trauma of the Abandoned

According to a Canadian psychologist Liz Burbo, the cause of bulimia can be the so-called trauma of abandonment. This is a repressed fear of abandonment that has its roots in childhood. A girl may experience the trauma of abandonment if, for example, one of the parents worked a lot and spent little time with her, rarely saw her, or even disappeared somewhere unknown. The daughter may get the impression that her parent has abandoned her, that he no longer loves her.

This trauma can also occur if, for example, a girl was sent to a closed sanatorium, admitted alone to a hospital, or sent to kindergarten late after the child had already become accustomed to being at home, in a calm home environment. In these cases, loneliness is especially painful for the child, because he begins to think that he was punished, that his parents do not love him. On top of that, the child will think that his parents will never take him away from here (in the case of, for example, a hospital). Even if they come to him from time to time, at the subconscious level he will have the feeling that he has been abandoned, abandoned.

Also, the fear of abandonment may arise at the birth of a brother or sister, because during the period when he (s) is born, all the attention of the parents, previously directed to the girl, goes to this new child. The girl perceives this as very traumatic, especially in the first few months after the birth of a brother or sister.

Another reason for the abandonment trauma can be weak control over the child or a complete lack of control when the girl is left to her own devices. For example, she goes out for a walk and finds out that her friends are only allowed to walk until nine, but no one gave her such instructions, and she can walk as long as she wants.

I also talk about the trauma of abandonment in the video:

In all episodes, the child, and in our case a girl, will feel abandoned by one of the parents and, perhaps, will feel guilty before him, think that she is being punished, and the parent no longer loves her. Often in adult life such a girl becomes.

Reason #4: Addict mask

A person who is afraid of being abandoned can put on the so-called mask of an addict. A dependent person is someone who constantly needs help, support, and who needs to know that they can count on someone. Support for such a person is everything, because he is incredibly afraid of being alone. The addict thinks that he cannot solve the problem on his own, so he often communicates with people simply out of fear of loneliness.

An addict, as a rule, is afraid to call or come to a friend, because he thinks that the friend is busy with more important things, that he has no time for him. Such people always walk in a vicious circle. For example, an addict’s fear of loneliness goes well with loneliness itself. He rarely has many friends, he is afraid to communicate, because he thinks that he is unworthy, no one has time for him. At the same time, more than anything else, he fears loneliness. Suffering from loneliness, he unconsciously moves away from the one with whom he would madly like to communicate. It turns out that the addict himself hinders his own happiness.

A person with the mask of an addict, as a rule, also depends on food. He often replaces missing emotions with food, and when it comes to childhood trauma, especially related to one of the parents, this can turn not just into overeating, but into bulimia. Let me explain. The episode in which, for example, a parent abandoned a child in childhood, went deep into the subconscious. And as an adult, he learned to cope with this trauma by enjoying food and thus calming down for a while and forgetting that his parent had once traumatized him. So, suspecting nothing, he replaces the missing parent with food.

Let's summarize this part: when a girl with abandonment trauma suffers from bulimia, she subconsciously strives to replace with food the missing time with her parent, his attention, love and care. In simple words, she tries to “eat” her parent, most often her father. Likewise, an addicted man suffering from bulimia “eats” his mother, who abandoned him in childhood, left him for some reason. By overeating, a man wants to replace with this food what was taken from him in childhood; he tries to “eat” his mother, or rather her love, care, support, which he lacks so much. Thus, bulimics make a transfer from their missing parent to the food they consume, trying to replace this parent with food.

Treating bulimia yourself - 4 steps to recovery

Now you know the main psychological reasons that give rise to bulimia, and you are ready to make the decision to free yourself from it. So, treating bulimia yourself - 4 steps to recovery:

Step #1: Accept and love yourself

The first step to getting rid of any problem is accepting it. In order to recover from bulimia, you need to understand what trauma triggered its onset. It is then important to acknowledge that you have this trauma. Trauma is a part of you, and if it didn't exist, you wouldn't be who you are today. In order to love yourself, you need to love your traumas and masks, as well as all your .

In order to accept your injury and your illness, your main goal should be to establish a balance, an equilibrium state between the food you consume and yourself. First of all, you need to change your attitude towards food and your illness. Be calm and loving about bulimia and food. The more harmonious your state is, the easier it will be for you to free yourself from this difficult relationship with food. Violent negative emotions always cause protest. The more you hate your bulimia attacks, the more often you will cause them. Accept them, accept yourself. If you accept bulimia, it will gradually begin to disappear from your life.

Every injury is given to us as an experience. By being able to acknowledge and love your abandonment trauma, you will take the first step toward freeing yourself from it. Once you love yourself, you will stop striving to look perfect and stop punishing yourself for overeating by vomiting. And after self-punishment and the desire for perfection leave your life, bulimia will also go away.

Step #4: Awareness

The difficulty in getting rid of bulimia is that this disease is unconscious. When another attack of bulimia hits you, you cease to be aware of what is happening and act in a semi-trance, semi-conscious state.

For this reason, it is very difficult to completely free yourself from bulimia without resorting to the help of a specialist. This is possible, but with a psychologist you will do it several times faster, and you will be able to more deeply understand the nature of bulimia and free yourself from it. I am a psychologist and have been working with eating problems through psychoanalysis for a long time. With the client, we work through the traumas that led to the creation of bulimia, we bring to the level of words and awareness everything that could also lead to the development of this disease.

Through awareness, over time comes acceptance of the fact that you could have been treated unfairly, incorrectly, or badly. When you begin to accept this, you stop replacing the emotions you are missing from childhood with food. You are freed from childhood reactions and, as you grow up, you let go of the desire to overeat along with bulimia.

in contact with, instagram

Conclusion

If you wanted this article to give you a magic wand that, if you waved, you could get rid of bulimia, then I probably disappointed you. Treating bulimia on your own is not an easy task, but by doing what is written in this article, you will take the first and main, biggest step towards your recovery.

Don't forget to purchase my book How to Love Yourself. In it, I share the most effective techniques with which I once raised my self-esteem, became confident and loved myself. Not only will this help you on your journey to recovery from bulimia, but it will also make your life happier!

Purchase and gradually complete my practical video course on leaving the role of a victim - with its help you will learn to express emotions, not keep them inside, drop your masks and take a significant step towards liberation from bulimia. There is a more detailed description of the video course.

Seeing a professional is another important step you can take on the path to healing. I am a psychologist, and eating problems are my main area of ​​work. You can contact me for an individual psychological consultation. I will help you improve your relationship with food and get rid of the pain that has haunted you since childhood. We will work with both the external manifestations of bulimia (your relationship with food) and the reasons that gave rise to bulimia (relationships with parents and self-love). We will go through all the necessary steps and cure bulimia together.

You can make an appointment with me for a consultation through in contact with, instagram or . You can get acquainted with the cost of services and the work scheme. You can read or leave reviews about me and my work.

Subscribe to my Instagram And YouTube channel. Improve and develop yourself with me!

I believe you will succeed!
Your psychologist Lara Litvinova

Bulimia is a serious, sometimes life-threatening eating disorder. People suffering from it can eat large amounts of food and then get rid of it by forced means. If you are currently experiencing bulimia, you should seek professional help immediately. The longer you suffer from bulimia, the more damage you will do to your health, and the more difficult it will be to get rid of it. Learn the steps you can take to overcome bulimia and fully recover from this terrible eating disorder.

Steps

Understanding the severity of bulimia

Find out more about your illness. The only way to truly understand the seriousness of bulimia is to learn more about this eating disorder. Bulimia nervosa involves eating large amounts of food (often in a short period of time) and then getting rid of the excess calories by vomiting or taking laxatives. There are two types of bulimia nervosa:

• With purging bulimia, the patient induces vomiting or abuses laxatives, diuretics and enemas in order to compensate for overeating.
• The second type, also called anorexia, uses different tactics to get rid of excess calories and prevent weight gain, including restrictive diets, fasting or intense exercise.

1. Learn about risk factors. People suffering from bulimia nervosa have certain personality traits, ways of thinking and life history that predetermine their susceptibility to this disease. Bulimia is more common in the following categories:

   • Women
   • Young and young people
   • Those with a history of eating disorders in the family
   • In people exposed to the social ideal of thinness promoted by the media
   • For mental and emotional disorders such as low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, anxiety, chronic stress; in people who have experienced psychological trauma
   • With constant pressure from others to excel or achieve in sports, dance, or as a model

2. Be able to identify the symptoms. Those suffering from bulimia (both purging and second forms) are characterized by a certain set of symptoms. You, your family members, or close friends may notice some of the following signs and symptoms that are consistent with this disorder:

   • Lack of self-control while eating
   • Trying to hide your eating habits
   • Frequent transitions from overeating to fasting and vice versa
   • Disappearance of food in the house
   • Consuming large amounts of food at the same body weight
   • Going to the restroom after eating to get rid of what you've eaten
   • Excessive exercise
   • Taking laxatives and diuretics, diet pills, using enemas
   • Frequent fluctuations in body weight
   • Due to enlarged salivary glands and frequent vomiting, swollen “hamster” cheeks appear
   • Overweight or normal weight
   • Discoloration or darkening of tooth enamel due to exposure to stomach acids

3. Remember that bulimia can be life-threatening. Bulimia nervosa can lead to many harmful consequences. Forced emptying of the stomach causes dehydration and electrolyte imbalance, which can ultimately lead to heart stroke, heart failure and even death. Frequent vomiting can result in rupture of the esophagus.

   See an eating disorder specialist. Your therapist probably won't be able to treat bulimia on your own. After an initial assessment, he will likely refer you to an eating disorder specialist. This could be a psychotherapist, psychologist or psychiatrist.

   Take an active part in your treatment. Effective treatment for bulimia involves identifying and eliminating triggers, reducing stress, promoting body image, and addressing the psychological and emotional causes of the eating disorder.

   Consult a nutritionist. Another step towards recovery from bulimia is to seek help from a professional nutritionist. A dietitian will determine how many calories and nutrients you need each day and help you develop healthy eating habits.

   Join a support group. People dealing with mental disorders such as bulimia often complain that there is no one around who understands them. If you are also experiencing this problem, join a local group for people trying to overcome bulimia or join an online community like this.

   • Your parents or other loved ones may also benefit from participating in meetings for people with bulimia and their families. At these meetings, various methods can be discussed to help you successfully recover from bulimia.

Symptom control

1. Share your story. Often people suffering from eating disorders hide their problems from others. Try to break this vicious cycle and share your thoughts, feelings and daily problems with someone. Find a good, understanding listener who can offer you help and psychological support.

   Watch your diet. During treatment, you should meet regularly with a dietitian and make an independent effort to develop healthy eating habits. Learning to listen to your body, distinguishing physiological hunger from mental hunger, caused, for example, by loneliness or boredom - this is an extremely important aspect of therapy. A dietitian will also be able to recommend specific foods that will fill you up and help you avoid overeating.

   Learn about alternative methods to overcome bulimia. Consider different methods and methods as tools - the more of them you have in your arsenal, the more successfully you can fight bulimia. Brainstorm with your doctor and nutritionist to come up with a successful strategy. Here are just a few ways:

   • To increase your self-esteem, take up a hobby or activity that excites you
   • When faced with another challenge, call your friend
   • Connect with friends from a support group (online community)
   • Make a list of phrases that strengthen your resolve and read it out loud regularly.
   • Take frequent walks and play with your pet
   • Start keeping a diary
   • Read a book
   • Go for a massage
   • Exercise if your treatment plan allows it

Developing a positive attitude towards your body

1. Exercise to improve your mood. Regular physical activity is beneficial in many ways: it strengthens the immune system, improves thinking and concentration, reduces stress, and improves self-esteem and mood. According to some studies, moderate exercise also helps to get rid of eating disorders and prevent their occurrence in the future.

2. Change your attitude towards nutrition and body weight. The main cause of bulimia nervosa is incorrect thoughts and beliefs about your body and nutrition. To overcome bulimia, you need to change your thinking. Instead of indulging in negative thoughts, try to change your thinking - treat yourself kindly, like a friend. By changing your way of thinking in the right direction, you will begin to treat yourself differently. O greater sympathy. The following errors are typical for incorrect thinking in eating disorders:

   • Jumping to unfounded conclusions: “Today was hard; I will never be able to overcome this disorder.” Expecting the worst can negatively impact your efforts. Instead, tell yourself, “Today was a tough day, but I got through it. Tomorrow I will also overcome all problems.”
   • Black and white thinking: “I ate fast food today. I won’t succeed.” If you are not careful and think in black and white terms, dividing everything that exists into absolute good and bad, it can easily lead to overeating. Instead, try telling yourself, “I ate some junk food today, but it's okay. Occasionally, you can allow yourself to relax a little, the rest of the time eating healthy food. I’ll cook myself something light and healthy for dinner.”
   • Personalization: “My friends started avoiding me because I talk too much about healthy living.” Trying to interpret someone's behavior and thinking that it is caused by a personal attitude towards you, you are doing wrong. Your friends may simply be too busy or don't want to disturb you. If you miss them, tell them so.
   • Too broad generalizations: “I need someone’s help with everything.” Negative thinking attracts failure. After all, you are probably capable of doing a lot of things without outside help. Try it and you will see for yourself.
   • Constantly thinking that you should do something or could have done something in the past, but missed your chance: “I need to be the best today.” This kind of rigid thinking is irrational and narrow-minded. Even if you are not the first in this or that case, this does not detract from your merits.