Do you find yourself powerless around food? Do you binge - eat large quantities of food quickly and secretively - and then purge the food through vomiting, exercise, or using laxatives in efforts to get rid of what you ate? After a binge, you might force yourself back into being “good” - you watch your caloric intake, eat only “clean” foods, and exercise daily. Soon after, you fall back into the binge-purge cycle once again. Though your behaviors might cause an immense amount of shame and guilt, they are also extremely soothing, reasssuring and hard to give up.
Bulimia nervosa is extremely common in the United States, with 1.5% of women and .5% of men struggling with the condition at some point in their lives. Bulimia frequently goes undiagnosed as those with bulimia often struggle in secret. They may lead very full, busy lives, maintain relationships and appear “normal” on the outside as many with bulimia are not underweight. However, bulimia nervosa is an extremely dangerous disorder that causes significant health problems such as esophagus damage, electrolyte imbalance, and dental issues, amongst numerous other issues.
You can live a life not dictated by your next binge. Schedule a free consultation today and let’s discuss how you can begin to heal.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) – A skills-based approach to eating disorder symptom management, DBT helps to increase mindfulness around hunger and food intake, increase ability to tolerate distressing situations that may trigger restricting/bingeing/purging cycles, help to regulate strong emotions that may trigger eating disordered thoughts and behaviors, and improve relationships patterns.
Enhanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT-E)– A structured treatment that helps one to understand the underlying beliefs that maintain their eating disorder. Through the CBT-E process, effort is made to change underlying beliefs or schemas by targeting them individually. The practice of self-monitoring, an evidence-based way to increase understanding of one’s emotional experience while eating, is used and reviewed throughout treatment.
Family-Based Treatment (FBT)– Also known as the Maudsley approach, Family-Based Treatment was developed at the Maudsley Hospital in London and is an empirically proven method used to reduce eating disorder symptoms in adolescents with eating disorders. FBT engages the whole family, especially parents, in helping their child recover from an eating disorder. Parents learn to support their child during mealtimes in efforts to restore regular eating habits.