Tip 1: Break the binge and purge cycle
The first step in recovery from bulimia is to avoid the bingeing and purging vicious cycle. It's important that you consider trying to eat in order to do this. Dieting activates the harmful cycle of bingeing and purging of bulimia. The irony is that the stricter the diet, the more likely you are to become concerned about food, even obsessed with it. Your body responds with powerful cravings when you starve yourself, his way of asking for required nutrients.
The desire to eat becomes too strong to resist as the anxiety, hunger, and feelings of deprivation build up: a' prohibited' food is eaten; a dietary law is violated. You believe every diet slip-up is a complete failure with an all-or-nothing mentality. You might think, after getting a bite of ice cream, "I've already blown it, so I might as well go all out."
The relaxation that bingeing gives, sadly, is very short-lived. Soon after, self-loathing and shame set in. And then, to regain power, you vomit to make up for bingeing. Purging, however, only strengthens binge feeding. Although you will convince yourself that this is the last time, there is a voice in the back of your mind saying that if you lose control again, you can still throw up or use laxatives. However, after a binge, purging doesn't come close to wiping the slate clean.
Tip 2: Develop a healthier relationship to food
You can no longer be plagued by cravings and thoughts of food until you stop trying to limit calories and obey strict dietary guidelines. You can break the binge-and-purge cycle by eating normally and still maintain a healthy, desirable weight.
Pay heed to your thirst. Don't wait till you starve. This just contributes to overeating! As soon as you note that you are mildly hungry, eat.
Regularly eat. Don't miss getting meals. Without a meal or snack, try not to let over 4 hours pass by.
Don't limit your meals. It becomes more enticing when something is off limits. "Say "I can eat ice cream as an occasional treat," instead of saying "I will never eat ice cream.
Concentrate about what you're eating. How much have you binged, not even enjoying what you're drinking, in an almost trance-like state? Be a conscientious eater instead of feeding mindlessly. Slow the textures and flavors down and savor them. You will not only eat less, you will enjoy it more.
Tip 3: Learn to tolerate unpleasant feelings
While bingeing is often caused by excessively strict dieting that backfires, it can also be a way of managing or numbing unpleasant moods or emotions.
Tell yourself if there is something more going on the next time you have the urge to binge. Is there an intense sensation that you strive to avoid? Do you eat to calm yourself down, to relax yourself, or to alleviate your boredom? If so, take a moment to interrupt whatever you do and explore what's going on inside, instead of using food as a diversion.
Identify an emotion that you sense. Anxiety, is it? shame? Desperation? Anger? Solitude? Scared? About emptiness?
Accept the experience you are witnessing. Avoidance and resistance only make negative feelings more strong. Instead, without judgment, strive to embrace what you believe.
Excavate further. Explore what's happening. Where in your body do you feel the emotion? What kinds of feelings are your mind going through?
Distance on your own. Realize that your emotions are NOT yours. Emotions are phenomena that pass, like clouds that travel through the sky. How you are, they can not identify.
Sitting with your emotions could at first feel extremely uncomfortable. Even unlikely, maybe. But you will begin to understand that you do not have to give in, as you fight the temptation to binge. Even feelings which feel overwhelming are just temporary. They can move swiftly if you stop battling them. Even, you're in charge. You can choose how you should respond.
Tip 4: Challenge dysfunctional thoughts
Dysfunctional, self-sabotaging ways of thinking that undermine your faith, color all in an unrealistically negative light, and make you feel powerless, incompetent, and humiliated are often fuelled by the bingeing and purging of bulimia. But to put a stop to these unhealthy mental patterns, you should read.
Damaging mindsets that fuel bulimia
Pensing all-or-nothing. At least when it comes to yourself, you have a hard time seeing shades of gray. You're a complete failure if you're not fine, and you might as well binge.
Emotional justification. You assume that it must be real if you feel it in a certain way. "I feel fat" means "I am fat." "I feel hopeless" suggests that you will never get better.
Musts, must-nots, and have-tos. You hang on to a strict set of rules ("I don't have to eat such and such food," "I have to get straight A's," "I always have to be in control," etc.) and if you violate them, you beat yourself up.
Labeling. Marking. Based on errors and perceived shortcomings, you call yourself names. Slipping up becomes "I'm a failure." "I'm unhappy with how I look" becomes "I'm disgusting."
Catastrophization. In the worst-case situation, you jump. For starters, if you backslide in recovery, you think there's no chance you'll ever get better.
Put your thoughts on the witness stand
If you understand the damaging patterns of thoughts you default to, you will begin to challenge them with questions like:
What is the proof that that thinking is true? Not true? Not true? ”
What was I going to say to a friend who had this thought? ”
Is there another way or an alternative reason to look at the situation? ”
How should I look at the situation if I had no bulimia? ”
You can be shocked by how easily they crumble when you cross-examine your negative thoughts. You'll build a more balanced outlook in the process.
