Expert: Jeanne Rust, PhD - 10/28/2009

Question
I really hope you can help me. The thing is I've been suffering from depression and an eating disorder since i was 14. i'm 20 now. i've been primarily anorexic but recently i've begun to develop bulimia. my problem is i am really ashamed of this. i feel like i have no self control and i feel horrible and fat. i see a therapist and she helped me so much. i was hospitalized alot of times and she helped me through them. i have been maintaining a healthy weight for a few months and just recently i have begun to binge and purge. it plagues me day and night and i try to concentrate on my school which i just started but its hard and i really am not doing well. i am not working but i still use the little money i do have to buy binge food and im really losing money fast. im too ashamed to tell my therapist who i have really been honest too. each time i binge i tell myself its the last time but i cant seem to stop.
can you help me?


Answer
Dear Sandy,

I'm so sorry that this is happening for you!  I will tell you that it is not at all uncommon for people to switch eating disorders.  I have known of many people who switch from anorexia to bulimia.  I can truly understand the shame involved -- because it's easy for a person to feel like a failure because they can't control this -- after all when they were anorexic they were in perfect control!

That's the bad news -- the good news is that you can still recover, be healthy, be well, be slim, and not have to use an eating disorder for any of this!  People don't have eating disorders just because they're "cool."  They have eating disorders for a variety of reasons -- primary among the reasons is that eating disorders are used as a way of coping with stress in life.

My hope for you would be that you would tell your therapist.  She's probably just waiting -- I would guarantee you that she knows something is wrong -- maybe not that you're purging, but that you have something you're not telling her.  Maintain your relationship with her as an honest one.  She won't be disappointed -- she'll be grateful that you chose to tell her -- that you trusted her enough.

You deserve to have a good life!  You can have a fabulous life once the eating disorder is gone from your life.

Please let me know how you do!!

Warmly,
Jeannie Rust, PhD
CEO/Founder
Mirasol Eating Disorder Treatment Programs
www.mirasol.net
www.edrecovery.com
888-520-1700