How can I successfully overcome bulimia?

Question

can someone please help me? i have struggled with bulilmia for almost 2 years. i quit once for six months, gained all the weight back, and then relapsed to lose it. i'm in a horrible place in my life now. i'm depressed and sad and lonely. this disorder has made me isolate those closest to me and lie constantly. it's affecting every aspect of my life. I want to overcome this once and for all, but i'm so scared of gaining weight. my self-esteem is so low now that i feel any weight gain would depress me so much. is there any help or advice anyone can give me? please. thanks.

Answer 1

Go to a counselor/minister and they will advise you.

Take care.

Answer 2

I am also bulimic and have been for the past two years. It is a terrible and difficult battle that is nearly impossible to overcome on your own. You may want to consider inpatient treatment, where you can be monitored and taught how to properly eat to remain healthy and still be thin, they don't try to make you fat or anything there, just how to be a healthy weight for your body. This will also provide you with therapy in order to overcome the reasons you became bulimic in the first place and things you struggle with on a day to day. Other ways are through outpatient therapy with a counselor. Provding yourself with a support system is important and helpful, especially having someone to sit with you while you eat and afterwards.

Answer 3

i was anorexic for about a year.
i'm still working on getting better.
find someone to talk to.
some one you trust who won't go tell the world.
when ever you eat and you feel guilty just go excercise.
yoga works well. and i got a tredmill for christmas so i usually run too.
every morning look in the mirror and find 5 things you like about your self. (it could even be your personality)
somedays you might not be able to think of anything good. so just avoid looking at yourself. or thinking badly about how you look.
people are going to like you because your personality. not by what you look like.
if you need someone to talk to my sn is xlaurenxknowsx

Answer 4

Have you tried visiting a psychologist? They are there to help people deal with problems like this. You could also try a support group for people with similar problems.

Answer 5

Tell yourself this several times each day:
I deserve to be happy. I deserve to live. Food is my friend. It nourishes me and gives me energy. It makes my hair shiny, my skin glow, my bones strong. Food is my friend. I deserve to receive and enjoy this food that sustains me. My body is a marvelous gift, a miracle of nature. I love my body. I will take good care of my body. I can relax and let it speak to me about what it needs to thrive.

Answer 6

bulimia can kill you.
would you rather die than be normal weight?
if you do not get help now, this disease will kill you.
The longer you live with bulimia, the harder it is to stop, and the harder it is to lose weight normally.

my friend was bulemic for 5 years.
then she got help and was able to stop.
now she is fat and cannot lose weight, all because bulimia messued up her metabolism.

you have already destroyed your motabolism, so there is no way you will ever be 100% healthy again.
sorry.
go get profesional help - or this disease will kill you.

Answer 7

Hi Abbey
If there is anything I can do to help I will. Ive suffered from anorexia for 12 years and am now 95% better. If you ever need to talk please email me and we can chat.
The key to my success was finding a psychotherapist (not a psychologist or counsellor) that I really connected with and trusted. A good one is worth their weight in gold.
Exercise is good but be careful that it doesnt turn into an addiction as it did for me. I now practice yoga and pilates safely. These are good for stress and also for toning which might be good for your mental health. Also dancing is great fun...try latin dancing. Do you write a diary? That may help...just let your thoughts run free and that might help you take things out on yourself less.
The first part of the battle is always the scariest / hardest but trust me it does get better/ easier and its worth the fight. You are worth it. Life can be great.
Perhaps put together a book of dreams and goals of the things you would like to do when u are free of this horrible illness. It can be fun and can help you focus and give you purpose. What do you enjoy doing now or do you think you would enjoy doing? Do nice things for yourself. Pamper yourself. It may sound hard but often going against the grain is what you need to fight.
But do try and open up to people...they can help....they arent doing it to be horrible. Its not you thats fighting them its IT so tell IT to bugger off and let the people closest to you back in. I stopped letting people in and it just let IT get stronger. You are the boss in this. Dont let IT fool you otherwise.
As I said please do get in touch if you want to talk more. Leave a message here if u want my email address.
Love B

Answer 8

Just stop making yourself throw up and you're cured!

Answer 9

Eating disorders - Bulimia
What is bulimia nervosa?
If you suffer from bulimia, you will eat large amounts of food, often thousands of calories, in a short space of time. You may begin by eating sensibly but then find you are unable to stop and continue to eat everything available. You may subsequently experience guilt or panic and purge by vomiting, taking laxatives or starving yourself. These binge and purge cycles vary in frequency and degree from person to person.

Exactly why a person binges depends on the individual but it tends to be triggered by situations that she or he finds difficult or distressing. Focusing on food and eating is a way of avoiding other painful issues. Bulimia becomes a way of coping, yet often by the time help is sought, they usually feel that the binge and purge cycle is beyond their control.

What triggers a binge?
Keeping a diary can be very helpful when trying to identify the triggers that cause someone to binge. You could note down your thoughts as well as situations, to help you work out how you can try to bring your bingeing under control.

For instance, you may find that you are more likely to binge…

At certain times of the day, maybe when you are at home alone in the evenings
At certain times of the month. If a woman has bulimia, there may be certain times during the menstrual cycle when a binge if more likely
During a particular season, maybe the winter months
Under stress at work, or home, or before exams
When snack foods are around, like crisps, biscuits or chocolate
When you have skipped lunch or not eaten for a long time
In response to something disturbing that you see or read about, such as child abuse
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Ways of coping
It may be difficult to cope with uncomfortable feelings without bingeing. If so, you should seek help and a support group is often beneficial. Here are some ways to help control the urge to binge:

If being home alone is a trigger, you should try and leave the house, go for a walk, telephone a friend to at least delay the binge, do something you enjoy that is not associated with bingeing
Be kind to yourself with a treat such as massage or a favourite film
You should allow yourself to experience these feelings. Writing about your experiences, or drawing them will be helpful to your counsellor in interpreting your expressions
Seek inspiration in other peoples writings, paintings and sayings
Take up a new interest, enrol in an evening class or become a volunteer.
Ensure you get regular exercise, walking once a day is good.
Re-educate yourself to eat healthily - low fat products, snack on fruit, vegetables etc. Have treats maybe only at weekends.
Recovery
Recovery from bulimia takes time. It may have taken years to develop the illness and, therefore, it is not easy to break established eating habits, particularly if they have become your way of coping with emotional difficulties. The first step to recovery is to acknowledge that you have bulimia.

You need to re-establish a structured eating pattern and to try and resolve the underlying emotional problem. You are more likely to binge if you deprive yourself entirely of food. The body needs to be reassured that regular meals are available that satisfy physical hunger, as distinct from the emotional hunger that might trigger a binge. Re-educating the body is not easy and if you relapse, it should be regarded as a set back, not a failure.

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Planning meals
Bulimia tends to throw eating patterns into chaos, so planning meals will help. You should:

Take it gradually. Begin by planning breakfast each day for a week, then breakfast and lunch, and so on
Eat regularly - little and often. Six small meals a day may be suitable. This will help to avoid feeling hungry at a time when you are training yourself in proper eating patterns
Try and keep to regular meals, even if you binge and vomit
Write out meal plans for the week, it will help to not worry about what to eat and when. You can then allow yourself some flexibility, you must make sure your nutrition is balanced
Eat slowly to enjoy the different flavours and textures. Meals should be a pleasure. Relaxation afterwards will allow you to feel satisfied.
Food for health
Food from the following groups will ensure that you are eating a balanced meal and taking in the nourishment the body needs.

Bread, cereals, potatoes rice and pasta are carbohydrates; not only are they necessary but they are satisfying and will make you less likely to binge

Fruit and vegetables provide many of the vitamins and minerals needed, as well as fibre to combat constipation

Meat, fish, eggs, pulses and nuts are proteins essential for renewing the body's cells, including muscle

Dairy products - milk, cheese and yoghurt provide calcium for strong bones as well as protein

Some fat is essential for the body to function so fat must not be cut out completely

Plenty of fluids, especially water, should be drunk although too much at meal times will make you feel bloated. (Drinking to avoid dehydration after purging may appear to increase weight. Do not panic - allow the body to adjust itself).

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Agencies which offer support and information for eating disorders
SupportLine Telephone Helpline: 020 8554 9004, email [e-mail] - Confidential emotional support to children, young people and adults. Also keeps details of agencies, counsellors and support groups throughout UK.

Anorexia and Bulimia Care: 01462 423351, www.anorexiabulimiacare.co.uk - Support, information, advice, befriending to sufferers and families. Can put parents in contact with other parents of sufferers. Christian organisation run by Christians for sufferers, families and carers.

beat - beat eating disorders (formerly the Eating Disorders Association) Helpline: 0845 6341414, email [e-mail]; b-eat Youthline 0845 634 7650, email [e-mail], www.b-eat.co.uk

British Nutrition Foundation: 020 7404 6504 - Provides information and advice on nutrition and related health matters. Produce a wide range of leaflets and books.

Caraline: 01582 457474, email [e-mail], www.caraline.com - Helpline providing counselling and support for people experiencing anorexia, bulimia, compulsive overeaters. Monthly self help group and individual counselling, specialised programmes. Helpline covers UK, local services to Bedfordshire.

DABS Mail-Order Book Catalogue: 01709 860023 - Books relating to Eating Disorders, Child Abuse, Self Esteem, Assertiveness, Self Harm etc.

Eating Disorders Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF.

Gemini: www.gemini.selfhelp.btinternet.co.uk - Site aimed at eating disorder sufferers – also run self help and support group for sufferers in Beckenham, Kent. Site includes chat room and forum.

Independence: 01223 566130 - Publishes book Coping With Eating Disorders price approx. £5.95.

The International Eating Disorders Centre: 01296 330557, www.eatingdisorderscentre.co.uk - Information, advice, support to sufferers and their families. Run short residential combined out patient programmes and inpatient programmes for sufferers.

Maisner Centre for Eating Disorders: 01273 729818 - Deals with bulimia and compulsive eating. Offers personal consultations.

The National Centre for Eating Disorders: 0845 838 20 40, www.eating-disorders.org.uk - Details of therapists who specialise in the treatment of eating disorders. Also provide low cost online self help for bulimia and binge eating.

Northern Initiative on Women and Eating: 0191 261 7010 - Helpline and information service for anyone experiencing problems with food and for their families and professionals. The agency provides support across the whole spectrum of eating problems including anorexia, bulimia, compulsive eating, binge eating and other associated problems.

National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence: 020 7067 5800 - Publish guidelines relating to Treatment of Anorexia.

Office of Health Economics: 020 7930 9203 - Publishes a useful book called Eating Disorders: Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa 1994 by Richard West. Cost £5.

Overeaters Anonymous: 07000 784985 - 24hr information line on a/machine. Works to relieve our compulsion to overeat/undereat or an obsession of food and dieting by living by spiritual principles based on the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.

SIZE: 020 7700 0509 - A national network which promotes healthy and positive lifestyles for fat men and women. Advice on wide range of issues, magazines, workshops.

Threshold Women's Mental Health Infoline: 0808 808 6000, email [e-mail], www.thresholdwomen.org.uk - National telephone helpline providing details of local and national services throughout UK. Produce series of factsheets on women and mental health, emotional support for women seeking information. Aims to help women experiencing mental health and/or emotional distress, their carers, families, friends, partners.

TOAST - Obesity Awareness & Solution Trust: 0845 045 0225, [e-mail], www.toast-uk.org.uk - To provide a forum for the obese, their families and those who work with the problem of obesity. To focus on medical needs, exercise, nutrition, and practical needs including cosmetics, clothing etc. To help provide the opportunity for contact and support between already formed groups of obese people and organising new groups in the UK.

Young Minds: 0800 018 2138 - email [e-mail], www.youngminds.org.uk - Helpline and other support services for parents concerned about the mental health of a baby, child or young person. Produces a range of leaflets, reports etc.

Youth Helpline: 0845 6347650, email [e-mail].

Useful websites
www.aest.org.uk - A site for survivors of abuse which includes information on eating disorders

www.eatingdisorder-alightinthedarkness.com – A sufferer of an eating disorder shares her personal experiences

www.foodandmood.org - Site which explores the relationship of what you eat and how you feel

www.rcpsych.ac.uk - Information on eating disorders

www.nutrition.org.uk - Information about healthy eating

www.somethingfishy.org - Includes information, forums, information for parents and carers. A recovery website for those with eating disorders

www.surgerydoor.co.uk - Click on 'medical conditions' then click on 'mental health' for information relating to bulimia

www.thesite.org - Includes information about eating disorders

Resources: EDA, SupportLine, Independence

Useful book