Expert: Jeanne Rust, PhD - 12/7/2009

Question
I've had bulimia for five years, I'm an 18 year old male. I believe that bulimia isn't just an eating disorder but a mental disorder, and people always think that you can just "stop puking" or something to that extent. I don't understand why they don't see that I can't just get over this over night. Every day of my life I find some way to feed this addiction I have and hurt the people I love even more. It's hard for me to maintain a relationship because of my eating disorder. Recently, I've been bringing up my girlfriend's past as an excuse of how much she doesn't like me to give my self an excuse to keep throwing up and keep purging and keep hating myself more and more, is there anyway I can fix this? Is there anyway that I can fix the way I think so I don't link so many irrelevant things together to give bulimia a reason to exist in my life? Please, I need any advice I can get. I just need to change, and I need to stop hurting the people I love the most.

Answer
Dear Jimmy,

I'm so so glad that you wrote!!

Yes, you can stop -- and yes, it will take a lot of work.  I tell people that it's easier to become a brain surgeon than it is to recover from an eating disorder.

Go to www.edreferral.com and you'll find a treatment locator -- you can pick out a therapist in your town who specializes in eating disorders.  You can also find a nutritionist who can be a part of your treatment team.  You'll need to go to your doctor and have a complete physical to see if there is any medical damage done to your body.

The main thing is that you don't have to live with this.  You can get help -- some therapists work on a sliding scale.  There are some 12-step meetings for anorexia and bulimia -- just start looking on the web.

You can get well!!

Warmly,
Jeannie Rust, PhD
CEO/Founder
Mirasol Recovery Centers
www.mirasol.net
www.edrecovery.com
888-520-1700