How do you deal?
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How do you deal?
| Tue, 04-17-2007 - 5:12pm |
I have been bulimic for about two years. I went to therapy for a while but because of expenses I couldn't afford it anymore. Right now I am looking to finding another therapist. My question is how do you guys resist the urge to binge? Its weird and sometimes scary but knowing that I have a night where I can be alone and binge and purge is something I look forward to. How do you change that mindset? What ways do you cope with that?

Hello, dasday! Welcome to the board!
I don't have experience
Hi das, how's it going.
KJ had some great ideas, I think a lot of it
~Diana~
I can relate to your post on so many levels! I was bulimic for 10 long years before I started recovery (2 year anniversary in May!). I think you are doing the right thing to look for another therapist and I just want to say that you can move mountains when you so desire. During my recovery, my therapist and I can up with a list and I'm happy to share it with you:
* Eat at regular times
* Keep all of your therapy appointments (once you find a new therapist, an eating disorders group may also help)
* Eat dinner with my husband
* Go for a walk
* Call a friend to chat
* Strength train with weights
* Play with my dog
* Paint
* Read
I think the hardest things I needed to do initially were eat at regular times and learn in the process what being full feels like. As bulimics, we forget the feeling of satisfaction because we are always stuffing ourselves during a binge. These two things took alot of practice, but went a long way to helping me not feel like I was starving, which resulted in overeating, which prompted me to binge, and if I binged... I always purged. If you can nip it in the bud at the early part of the cycle, the part where you don't let yourself reach the point of feeling like you are so hungry you could eat a house and thereby bypass overeating, that's a huge feat!
As for your question on resisting the urge to binge in the heat of the moment when that's all you can think about, that's when I resort to changing my surroundings. If the food is in your house, leave your house and go for that walk. If you get food by going out to fast food places or the grocery store, do NOT get in your car. As people that suffer from eating disorders, we often see things in black and white... you have to learn to be ok with gray. For me, I would binge and purge in response to feelings of anxiety, because I hated feeling that way. The hardest part is putting yourself in a setting where you cannot use your symptoms and must deal with feeling the anxiety (or depression or whatever your triggers are). The more you practice and celebrate the small victories, the easier it becomes to win the big battle. I hope these things help and I hope you make your own list. Self awareness about what triggers you to binge and purge goes a long way!