What Does Bulimia Treatment Involve, And How Might It Help Me? 

The right Bulimia Treatment is available to help you break free from binging and purging. It may not be easy or simple, but YOU CAN GET BETTER, just as many other sufferers of Bulimia Nervosa have done before, and it will be well worth the effort.

We have outlined here the main aspects that will help you toward a successful recovery:

1) Confidence grows with knowledge and understanding, so find out all you can about the condition. (We hope this is where our website is helping!)

picture by Aussiegall on flickr.com

2) Please speak to your doctor and have a medical check-up. Long-term binge eating and purging can lead to some real health risks, so some blood tests or other investigations may be advisable. Your doctor can also refer you to other specialists in Bulimia Treatment such as nutritionists, dieticians and psychotherapists.

You might also benefit from your doctor assessing you for depression or anxiety and if necessary, they will be able to prescribe the right anti-depressants or other medications. These would be most beneficial when combined with counselling or psychotherapy.

3) The real work starts with breaking the cycle of binging and purging, and this is where nutritional advise from a dietician can be so helpful. It is important to stop dieting and regulate your eating patterns - to lessen any obsession with food, reduce cravings and rebalance your nutrition.

Regulating your eating patterns helps stabilise your blood sugar and energy levels; helps rebalance serotonin and endorphin levels and therefore helps regulate your mood; and also your adrenalin response which is so closely linked to stress.

Eating healthily can become one of your ways of caring for yourself, and with time you will reach a healthy weight that is right for you.

4) Addressing your underlying emotional needs and issues is another important part of Bulimia Treatment. This is where counselling and psychotherapy can help (sometimes in conjunction with anti depressants or other medication). If possible, find someone with experience and an understanding in the condition.

Psychotherapy can help you address issues such as:

• Your relationship to food
  
  
• Low self esteem
  
  
• Anxiety and depression
  
  
• Poor body image
  
  
• Relationship problems
  
  
• Feelings of shame and isolation
  
  
• Developing coping skills - regarding stress, anger, assertiveness, handling emotions

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is often seen as the current therapy of choice. This approach looks at a persons thoughts, feelings and actions, and how they all affect each other.

Often, CBT in Bulimia treatment is in two main phases:

• Breaking the binge/purge cycle using techniques such as monitoring with food diaries; recognising and avoiding trigger situations; developing new coping skills.
  
  
• Recognising and changing unhelpful thought patterns and behaviours, such as negative thoughts and beliefs, low self esteem, poor body image, all-or-nothing thinking styles; handling emotions and stress.

Other helpful types of therapy can be:

• Interpersonal therapy - especially if relationship problems are an issue.
  
  
• Family therapy - as often the whole family is affected by the condition
  
  
• Group therapy - this can give peer support in a safe environment helping someone know they are not the only one.
  
  
• 12 step programmes - these are based on the model from alcoholics anonymous

5) Get some form of ongoing support - go for follow up meetings with your doctor or therapist; join a self help group; join an on-line forum. Also, watch out for signs of your mood lowering, your self esteem dipping, or your behaviour slipping back to the old ways again, all of which could lead to the condition re-emerging and taking a hold again. Having some sort of support in place will help prevent any relapse occurring.

Residential Bulimia Treatment or hospitalisation would usually only become a consideration where there are complicating factors, for example:

• Severe depression and suicidal thoughts
  
  
• Medical complications
  
  
• Extreme weight loss
  
  
• Extreme malnourishment
  
  
• Severe behavioural problems
  
  
• No improvement despite interventions