Expert: Meg - 10/15/2007

Question
I MAKE MYSELF THROW UP AFTER EVERY MEAL THEN WHEN NO ONES AROUND IM SO HUNGRY I PIG OUT ON EVERYTHING AROUND. HOW DO I STOP THIS CYCLE?


Answer
Hi Jade,

I'm so sorry that you are dealing with this and hope that I can be of help.  It sounds like you already know at least a little bit about bulimia and also that your current behavior is not healthy.  This is good and hopefully you can now take steps to get back to being healthy again.  Depending on how long you have been doing this and how entrenched the behaviors and feelings are, you may want to think about getting professional help as well.

First, here are some helpful pages online that have more information on bulimia and getting better (and also the dangers that purging can cause to your body).  

http://www.something-fishy.org/whatarethey/bulimia.php

http://www.something-fishy.org/dangers/dangers.php

http://www.angelfire.com/realm/falsereflections/breakcycle.html

http://healthyplace.com/Communities/Eating_Disorders/peacelovehope/bulimia.html

In order to move past this, you need to first stop the behaviors (if possible) so that your body can get healthier.  In addition, purging after your meals is leaving you very hungry and thus probably leading you to eat again and then purge again.  This is how an eating disorder cycle continues, and the best way to break the pattern is to stop purging and create a healthy meal plan that you can stick with so that your body can normalize and you're not starving all the time.  

I know that simply stopping the physical behaviors can be difficult as often, we develop eating disorders for more complex psychological reasons.  This is why, often, people require some sort of therapy and help to fully get rid of their eating disorder.  You will need to figure out what started your bulimia and then find healthier ways to cope without using food or your body.

I feel like this answer is somewhat vague and I would gladly be more specific, so please feel free to email me again if there is anything more that I can help with.

Good luck and please take care,
Meg