Bulimia, help, what to do with it? Bulimia: secrets of diagnosis and treatment Bulimia is curable.

Bulimia (polyphagia) is a mental disorder, the core symptom of which is loss of control over eating behavior, with bouts of overeating alternating with attempts to get rid of their consequences.

Bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa are the main eating disorders encountered in psychiatry.

Who experiences

Most often, bulimia develops in women; the proportion of men among patients with an eating disorder is 10-15%.

As a rule, bulimic neurosis debuts at the age of 12-35 years, with a peak occurrence at 18 years.

The proportion of students suffering from bulimia varies from 4 to 9%.

Reasons for development

Common causes of bulimia are the effects of stress, the consequences of repeated traumatic situations, and the consequence of organic damage to the central nervous system.

A predisposing factor may be increased nutrition in childhood or adolescence.

It is often possible to discover a relationship between joining a new team, family conflicts, sexual problems and the appearance of symptoms of bulimia. Such stress factors can trigger the occurrence of polyphagia.

Eating bulimia is a mental disorder that does not occur out of nowhere. There must be some problems that a person is “stuck on.”

As a rule, people with a similar disease have had many traumatic situations in their lives in childhood and adolescence; there was some serious problem that triggered the development of the disease. Such people are dependent on the opinions of others, because they are very afraid of gaining weight, afraid that others will find out about their problems with food.

Why am I focusing on this? Yes, because no matter how much you read about how to overcome bulimia, you will not be able to achieve a positive and lasting result until you solve the problems that push a person towards the disease.

More than 40% of people with eating bulimia also experience mood episodes during their lifetime (eg, recurrent depressive disorder).

Substance abuse is not uncommon among patients with this digestive disorder (). Such individuals are characterized by excessive anxiety, increased impulsiveness, and problems communicating with others.

Symptoms

The leading manifestation of bulimic neurosis is the loss of control over eating behavior: a person first experiences bouts of overeating, and then he tries to get rid of the consequences of his excessive appetite.

Main symptoms of bulimia:

• uncontrollable craving for food, obsessive thoughts about it;
• inability to resist overeating;
• frequent episodes of compulsive overeating (at least two per week for three months);
• painful fear of increasing one's own weight;
• attempts to combat excess weight through vomiting, laxatives, periods of fasting, exercise, etc.;
• at the same time, patients feel a sense of guilt due to the inability to control their desires;
• preservation of sexual activity and libido.

And now I will dwell in more detail on the listed symptoms.

Eating disorders

Bulimia is manifested by a compulsive craving for food; a person is literally haunted by thoughts about it. Some patients, describing their condition, claim that they simply cannot resist overeating.

During attacks of overeating, patients can literally “swallow” food, eat it secretly, in a hurry, and may not even chew it. As a rule, the food taken during such attacks of bulimia is high in calories and soft in consistency.

Quite often, patients cannot eat enough and stop only when they begin to feel physical discomfort - nausea, pain in the epigastric region, a feeling of bloating. An attack of gluttony can also end due to the appearance of psychological discomfort - feelings of guilt, depressive feelings, dissatisfaction with oneself.

As a rule, eating during the interictal period is not accompanied by a feeling of fullness. Patients lose control over their eating behavior.

The average duration of an overeating attack is about an hour.

The most common frequency of such attacks is from one per day to 1-2 per week.

Patients are clearly aware of the abnormality of their eating behavior and skillfully hide it from others, even from close relatives.

Behavioral disorders

Often such people withdraw from social contacts and stop communicating with former friends.

Eating disorders can also be combined with behavioral disorders. Most often these are thefts - . Such people steal food, clothing, and inexpensive jewelry.

Dissatisfaction with oneself, one's own weight, and appearance can lead to depression, and therefore patients need increased attention from both the doctor and close relatives.

The goal is to get rid of food and prevent excess weight.

After several episodes of overeating or when a person begins to realize that he has begun to gain weight, attempts appear to get rid of food and prevent the appearance of excess weight.

In order to lose weight, patients may resort to getting rid of eaten food by vomiting. At the initial stages, patients insert their fingers into the oral cavity to cause vomiting, but after some time, vomiting begins to occur as a conditioned reflex.

Another common way to get rid of the effects of overeating is to take laxatives and diuretics.

The ingenuity of people suffering from eating disorders doesn’t stop there. Other drugs are also used. These may be thyroid medications used to treat thyroid diseases. Hormonal drugs speed up metabolism, which is why they are used by some patients suffering from polyphagia. To reduce the desire for food, patients can take appetite suppressants, but their effectiveness is negligible. Instead of thinking about how to cure bulimia, such people harm their body!

To get rid of excess weight, some people try to fast for a while. But sooner or later a breakdown occurs, and bulimia nervosa, with all the accompanying symptoms, returns again.

Another way to combat excess weight is excessive physical activity. With the right approach, they help control everything, but the root cause still remains.

Classification

The following stages of bulimia can be roughly distinguished:

• Initial - when the patient just begins to “eat” stress: during problematic situations, such people feel severe hunger and an irresistible craving for food. Bouts of overeating at this stage occur infrequently - several times a month.
• Stage of advanced manifestations - bulimia attacks occur regularly, at least twice a week. Patients psychologically suffer from their gluttony, constantly struggle with excess weight by vomiting, taking medications, they are bothered by an overwhelming feeling of guilt for their weak character, but most often they cannot overcome the disease on their own.
• If the disease lasts a long time (at least 5 years), then we can talk about its transition to the chronic stage.

Consequences

Consequences in the oral cavity that occur as a result of frequent vomiting are caries and periodontitis. In addition, systematic induction of the gag reflex can lead to hoarseness of the voice, damage to the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, esophagus and stomach.

Bouts of overeating lead to expansion of the stomach, and attempts to get rid of its contents by vomiting can be complicated by ruptures of the esophagus or stomach.

Frequent use of laxatives and diuretics, as a rule, is accompanied by metabolic disorders - the level of potassium and chlorine in the blood serum decreases. And this, in turn, can lead to disturbances in the rhythm of cardiac activity (arrhythmia) up to sudden cardiac arrest, general weakness, and drowsiness. In addition, a decrease in calcium content in bones and dental tissue may be observed.

Do not forget that uncontrolled use of medications for the purpose of losing weight can lead to disruption of the thyroid and pancreas.

Treatment

Treatment of bulimia should be carried out in two main directions - medication and psychotherapy. To achieve maximum results, you need to combine anti-bulimia drugs with psychotherapeutic sessions.

Drug therapy

How to get rid of bulimia? Which medications give the best results? I will try to answer these questions.

Antidepressants are the drugs of choice in the treatment of bulimia. Tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline, clomipramine, imipramine, mianserin, etc.), as well as, in the presence of a pronounced anxiety-depressive component, MAO inhibitors (nialamide, phenelzine, pirlindole, moclobemide, etc.) have the best effect. When treating bulimia, attention is paid not to the antidepressant effect of the drug, but to its direct effect on eating behavior.

If the patient is found to be insensitive to antidepressants, then anticonvulsants (mood stabilizers) - phenytoin, carbamazepine - can be used as a cure for bulimia. These drugs also have a direct effect on eating behavior.

It is necessary to understand that independent uncontrolled use of these drugs will not only not give a positive result, but can cause harm. The choice of a drug, its dose, frequency of administration, duration of treatment, assessment of the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the drug - this is all within the competence of the psychiatrist.

Psychotherapy

The goal of drug treatment is to help cope with eating disorders and improve mental state. The drugs will help eliminate the exacerbation of the disease and act as a powerful blow to bulimia.

But in order to consolidate the effect, in order to prevent future episodes of bulimia, you need to figure out what is wrong with you, what problems, grievances, complexes are pushing you towards polyphagia. And psychotherapy should become an indispensable assistant in this.

Even if you don't see a problem, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Most likely, during psychotherapeutic sessions a lot of things will come out that you don’t want to remember, but that prevent you from living a normal life. And until you truly let it all go, you will not be able to completely overcome bulimia.

Among psychotherapeutic techniques in the treatment of bulimia, cognitive behavioral therapy methods are widely used, applied both in individual and group settings.

How to overcome bulimia on your own, is it possible?

If the disease is at an early stage, then, if desired, you can cope with the disease yourself. However, you need to be patient and carefully monitor your diet if you have bulimia.

So, how to deal with bulimia on your own? What factors are needed to achieve this goal?

• your own desire;
• proper regular nutrition;
• help from a loved one.

Do you want, but don’t know how to cope with bulimia? I'll give you a hint. The very first thing is your own great desire. You must understand that the disease did not develop in one day, but over months and years. And therefore, in order to overcome an illness and develop correct eating behavior, it takes a lot of time.

Until you yourself want to cope with the disease, understand that it is within your power, and resist the disease with all your might, no one can do this.

Let's be honest: after all, no one will stop you from buying a kilogram of cakes and eating them around the corner? And if you fight this desire, if you buy not a kilogram, but 2-3 pieces and eat them slowly, then this will be your own victory!

Proper nutrition is the basis of everything!

In order to control appetite, hunger and satiety at a physiological level, you need to accustom yourself to eat regularly. Meals should be small, frequent and regular. And it all depends on you. You must plan your menu in advance, think about what you will eat for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner. You should try to avoid such situations when you go hungry to places where food is available in abundance. Constant control - this is the motto you must adhere to! And then bulimia will definitely be defeated!

It is incredibly difficult to cope with the disease alone. Yes, you don’t want others to know that not everything is okay with you, but there are times when you really, really need the support of a loved one, their care, their “stop”, which will help you stop in time and not break down. Therefore, think about which of your close people you trust, in whom you are 100% confident, on whom you can rely, tell him about your problem and ask for help.

Bulimia is a chronic disease; there will be periods in your life when the disorder wants to remind itself again. The most important thing in such situations is not to give up. Yes, the struggle may not be easy, but if you try, if you set a goal to cope with this disorder, then you will definitely succeed, and your self-esteem will increase. So everything is in your power, remember this!

Traditional medicine plays an important role in the treatment of bulimia. How to get rid of bulimia on your own, supplementing treatment with herbal remedies and what effect do they have on the body? The active substances contained in plant materials have the ability to positively influence the metabolic processes occurring in the body, which contribute to the burning of fats and calories. These natural products include:

• pumpkin – freshly squeezed juice 100 ml three times a day;
• cucumber – freshly squeezed juice, half a glass after meals;
• tomatoes - freshly squeezed juice, half a glass in the morning before breakfast;
• cabbage - freshly squeezed juice, half a glass before meals three times a day;
• natural birch sap 200 grams once a day for a month.

Drinking juices provides the body with additional vitamins and microelements, and also helps normalize the functioning of the body’s digestive system.

Phytotherapy

Various decoctions and infusions of medicinal plants have a positive effect in the treatment of bulimia. In the treatment of this pathological process, there are two categories of traditional medicine recipes, which are aimed at suppressing pathological appetite and relieving manifestations of a nervous nature.

Herbal medicines that help reduce appetite:

Herbal medicines that have a sedative effect on the nervous system:

• A collection is prepared from valerian root, lemon balm, mint in a 1:1:1 ratio. 15 grams of the collection is poured with boiling water and infused. Take 100 ml twice a day;
• An infusion is prepared from dried motherwort leaves. 15 grams of herb are poured with boiling water and infused. Take half a glass three times a day;
• A collection of hop cones, lemon balm and valerian is being prepared in a 1:1:1 ratio. 30 grams of the mixture is poured with boiling water and infused. Take 100 ml three times a day.

Treatment with traditional medicine prescriptions should be carried out in a course and after the recommendation of a specialist.

Since bulimia is a psychosomatic disease accompanied by an eating disorder, it is mandatory to undergo a consultation with a psychotherapist and nutritionist. Only a specialist can find out the cause of abnormal behavior and eliminate the factors contributing to the development of pathological symptoms. Cognitive behavioral therapy allows the patient to effectively, with the help of a psychotherapist, identify incorrect thoughts and develop positive eating behavior.

The sooner the doctor prescribes treatment, the faster the pathological symptoms are relieved. Consultation with a nutrition specialist is important in treating bulimia. A nutritionist, if there are manifestations of the disease, will individually determine the patient’s need for the required amount of calories for the body and help develop correct eating habits.

The prognosis for life and ability to work with bulimia is positive. The sooner you contact a specialist, the faster the symptoms are relieved. According to reviews from patients undergoing psychotherapeutic treatment, after just a few sessions with a specialist, there was an improvement in their general condition and a leveling of the emotional background.

Mental disorders accompanied by violations of normal eating habits are the scourge of modern youth. Bulimia and anorexia are two friends that often occur in the same person. Bulimia is gluttony when you feel unbearable and irresistible hunger, despite the fact that a huge portion of food has already been eaten. After eating, a person with bulimia experiences a feeling of guilt and shame for the food eaten, as he is afraid of gaining weight. To remedy the situation, he tries to induce vomiting and takes laxatives. The circle closes and everything repeats itself again.

How to recognize bulimia in yourself

Very often, a person with bulimia does not admit to himself or others that he is addicted. He doesn't even consider it an addiction or a disease. But it is still possible to recognize this mental disorder. Here are some signs that characterize the behavior of a person with bulimia.

1. The huge, incredibly huge amount of food a person can eat. Bouts of gluttony may occur at night. Sometimes a person with bulimia tends to chew something constantly. After eating so much food, pain and cramping occur in the abdomen, and various disorders of the digestive system occur.
2. - a constant companion of bulimia. After an attack of gluttony, a person tries to correct the situation and carries out various “cleansing” procedures for the intestines - giving an enema, inducing vomiting, taking laxatives and diuretics.
3. Bulimia is often accompanied by various psychological disorders - depression, stress, anxiety, deterioration in sleep quality.
4. A person with bulimia is obsessed with their weight. Losing weight, dieting and nutrition are all that are of interest to him. In fact, maintaining the desired weight becomes the main goal in life.
5. Bulimia alternates periods with anorexia. For a long time, a person exhausts himself with hunger strikes and loses a lot of weight. But at some point his brain simply turns off, and the patient eats a portion of food that is equal in calorie content to the weekly diet of an ordinary person.
6. A patient with bulimia cannot be distinguished among healthy people. He has a normal average weight and does not stand out among others when it comes to food intake. Overeating occurs only when alone; he usually hides his tendencies from friends and family members.

This disease plagues teenagers, mainly girls. During puberty, their psyche is unstable, they are dissatisfied with their appearance. Very often girls feel like they are overweight. Due to the lack of experience in losing weight and proper nutrition, they simply refuse to eat, which often leads to anorexia. Prolonged fasting causes exhaustion of the body, followed by an uncontrollable attack of gluttony. This is bulimia nervosa, which needs to be treated by a neurologist.

Eating disorders often originate in childhood. In many families there is a cult of food, when the child is forced to eat regardless of his desire. “You won’t get up from the table until you’ve eaten all the contents of the plate” - this is completely wrong behavior for adults in the family. Usually in families where there is a cult of food, the majority suffer from excess weight. The child himself feels when and how much to eat. If you want him to eat a portion of soup, you need to increase his exposure to fresh air, give him the opportunity to play outdoor games and limit access to candy, cookies and other sweets until lunch. And then he will eat the treasured plate without persuasion and with appetite.

It is not uncommon to experience bulimia in older adults, around 25-30 years of age. This type of bulimia occurs against the background of various psychological problems, stress at work, and failures in your personal life. The patient simply “seizes” the problem. Temporary gustatory joy helps to distance oneself from life’s failures, but everything is imaginary. Indeed, with an advanced form of bulimia, a person simply does not feel the taste of foods.

When an adult sees food only as a consolation and an escape from emotional distress, this often leads to eating disorders. Bulimia harms more than just the digestive system. Frequent eating causes teeth to spoil, bad breath to appear, and the thyroid organs to suffer. All this is accompanied by memory deterioration, impaired sleep quality and long-term depression.

To cure this disease, you need to remember that bulimia is a mental disorder. First you need to direct your thoughts in the right direction, and only then begin to treat the body itself. If you suspect that you, a friend, or a member of your family may have bulimia, you need to take immediate action. It is possible to recover from bulimia; it requires patience and discipline.

1. First, accept and understand your problem. Denial will not lead to anything good. To defeat a disease, you need to admit its presence with your head held high. And then see a doctor. Self-medication in this case is extremely undesirable and even dangerous.
2. At the doctor there is no need to be ashamed of your illness. Honestly and frankly tell the specialist about your bulimia attacks - how often they occur, against the background of what emotional state. The doctor will prescribe a course of medications that will heal organs damaged by malnutrition. Along with this, you will receive a prescription for antidepressants. They will help you not feel the anxiety that you eat. They will also write out a detailed diet for you, indicating the portion size and meal times.
3. As for self-treatment, psychological motivation is important here. You need to love yourself for who you are. Look at yourself in the mirror. There is no need to compare yourself to skinny girls and model-looking girls. In life, men often like women who are full of health, not emaciated women. Love yourself just the way you are. Find and list all your advantages - there will be many of them.
4. To get rid of bulimia attacks, try to plan your day. Lead a healthy lifestyle. You need to eat healthy foods, follow a diet and not break it. Before eating, put on your plate exactly as much as you plan to eat. No additives. Don't sit at the common table. As soon as you have finished the last bite from your plate, you need to get up from the table. It is better to communicate with family in a different environment, for example, in the living room.
5. Don't look for comfort or reward in food. For example, you go to an important exam and make a promise to yourself that if you can pass it successfully, you will allow yourself to eat cake. This is fundamentally wrong. You cannot reward yourself with food, because you are a person, not an animal. Tell yourself that if the exam is successful, then buy yourself that fashionable handbag that you have been dreaming of for so long or give yourself a membership to the pool. Learn to look for joy beyond food.
6. Keep yourself busy so you don't think about food. Often we experience an imaginary feeling of hunger, just because we are bored and have nothing to do. It only seems to us that we are hungry. In fact, you just need to keep yourself busy. Sign up for language courses, play sports, meet with friends more often. This will take your mind off food.
7. Stop taking weight loss medications. Train yourself not to vomit even after a bulimia attack. Accept that the food you eat is already in you and there is no way to get it out of there. Throw out all laxatives and diuretics from the house - they should not be used so often. It is better to work off the calories you eat on the exercise machine than to induce vomiting.
8. If you feel that you are experiencing stress that you cannot cope with on your own, you need to seek help from a specialist. An experienced psychotherapist will identify the root of your problem and help you overcome it.
9. Find a purpose in life and go towards it. Understand that losing weight, diets and nutritional rules are far from the main thing. You already look great, let nutrition correction and diet be the norm for you, which you don’t need to think about. After all, you brush your teeth every day, but don’t think about it all day? So it is here. If you intend to lose weight, you just need to eat right and move more. But you can’t think about it every second. Find yourself a more interesting goal. Perhaps you want to get a second education, buy your first car or learn Spanish. Go for it! There is so much more interesting in the world besides worrying about food.
10. To cope with a ravenous appetite, you can use herbal decoctions. Alfalfa, aloe vera, chickweed, burdock, licorice root, fennel, nettle, green tea, plantain. All these plants have excellent appetite suppressant properties. They can be used alone or in combination with each other. A few tablespoons of the herbal herb should be poured into a liter of boiling water and allowed to brew. Then you need to strain the broth and drink 200 ml when an attack of bulimia is approaching. If you feel unbearably hungry even though you have eaten recently, just drink this warm decoction. In a few minutes you will feel better.

If you suffer from bulimia, you don’t need to torment yourself and worry about it. Like any other disease, bulimia is highly treatable. However, for an effective and accurate result, you will have to be patient - only a year after the absence of bulimia attacks can you consider yourself completely healthy. Love and accept yourself for who you are, because you are truly beautiful!

Video: how to cure bulimia

Diseases that are based on a mental disorder are quite difficult to treat, since all symptoms are only an external reflection of ongoing processes. In such cases, treatment of somatic conditions is ineffective without restoring the psyche, since the fight against the effect is useless unless the causes are eliminated. The problem is that it is extremely difficult to find out the cause of the disease - often the patient himself is not able to clearly explain when and how it all began, what served as the impetus for the emergence of a stable reflex. Moreover, it is generally difficult for a person to notice any deviations in himself, and when he does pay attention to them, he explains it as a common habit. To contact a doctor, the problem must begin to seriously bother the patient, so treatment begins when the disease is at an advanced stage. Often, a visit to the clinic is initiated by relatives or friends who convince the patient to seek help.

Bulimia is one of the types of eating disorder, a behavioral syndrome expressed in a reaction to stress, neuroses or other emotional states in the form of feelings of extreme hunger and the absorption of large amounts of food. The patient does not feel full; he eats until painful sensations appear.

The consequence of this is a feeling of shame for such manifestations, attempts to get rid of what was eaten by inducing vomiting, the use of laxatives, attempts to starve or exhaust oneself with physical activity.

Important! Bulimia should not be confused with a similar disease - psychogenic (compulsive) overeating.

The similarities are very great, but the difference between them is that when overeating, a person tries to close himself off from problems in this way, and with bulimia, he simply experiences severe hunger, alternating with attempts to correct the situation by radical methods. This behavior has a detrimental effect on:

1. Esophagus. Frequent passage of vomit causes a burn of digestive acid to the mucous membrane.
2. Oral cavity. The condition of tooth enamel deteriorates, the mucous membrane of the gums is damaged from exposure to gastric juice during vomiting, and constant irritation of the larynx is observed.
3. Impaired liver and kidney function.
4. Frequent use of laxatives causes intestinal disorders.
5. Metabolic disorders that provoke heart disease, menstrual irregularities in women, and there may be internal bleeding.
6. Lack of salts and minerals, causing cramps or involuntary muscle contractions.
7. Depressive states.

The greatest danger of the disease is that it is very difficult to recognize in the early stages, and the patient is not able to control his behavior and is not aware that he is sick. Most often they try to explain this by “features of the body,” “habit,” etc. At the same time, attempts to neutralize their actions are very active, they are used very intensively and in large doses. All this against the backdrop of constant stress due to a feeling of shame for one’s behavior. A “vicious circle” arises - nervous tension provokes attacks of hunger, which cause attempts to get rid of what was eaten and somehow neutralize what happened, causing new stress. Thus, the disease progresses, simultaneously destroying internal organs and causing additional destructive processes.

It is they who often become the reasons for visiting a doctor, and the main problem remains unrecognized, continuing its effect until the moment when it becomes completely obvious. The patient monitors his weight, external signs are almost completely absent. The disease is purely female; men suffer from this disease very rarely, although no one has yet been able to link this circumstance to gender. Many experts attribute this situation to the characteristics of female psychology, increased emotionality and susceptibility to stress.

Treatment methods for bulimia

Medication methods will not solve the problem, since its essence lies in the psychological plane. In most cases, treatment of the disease takes place on an outpatient basis; hospitalization is used only in the most advanced cases, when the consequences of the disease require urgent measures.

For treatment, a complex method is used, combining psychoanalysis, behavioral therapy, and only last but not least, medication. The main task that arises during treatment is to help a person realize the presence of a problem, its signs and symptoms. The patient must learn to analyze his well-being detachedly, without emotional stress, and control his behavior and way of thinking.

The main issue becomes a person’s ability to understand and accept his condition, take control of his experiences and change his overall outlook on things. We must learn to break down a problem into its component parts and deal with each of them separately:

1. Monitor your diet, monitor the frequency and amount of food you eat.
2. Stop paying too much attention to your appearance, in particular, don’t be afraid of getting too fat.
3. Stop using laxatives and do not consider playing sports as a means to hide your illness.

The most important step in solving the problem is understanding that this is a disease that can be overcome to a greater extent by personal efforts than by medications and procedures. Specialists are required to help in acquiring the correct psychological attitude, which eliminates the occurrence of stressful situations and emotional breakdowns due to what is happening. The patient must understand that his problem is not an isolated incident, this has happened before and will continue to happen, therefore it must be treated as a nuisance, but not as a tragedy.

Correcting the patient’s interpersonal relationships is of great importance, in particular, changing the degree of his responsibility to others. A person must realize that the opinion of others is only someone's opinion, and in no way an order or obligation. Group therapy has a very great effect in this regard, where people with the same problems begin to gradually change their attitudes and increase their self-esteem.

Family therapy is no less important, helping to identify and eliminate the sources of pathological attitudes in thinking, and organize close and positive control over the patient’s condition.

Drug treatment comes down to prescribing antidepressants that support the patient’s psychological state, as well as eliminating side problems - blood pressure, dysfunction of the kidneys, liver, intestines, etc.

Self-treatment of bulimia

If it is not possible to turn to specialists, you can and should try to heal yourself. First of all, you should have a clear understanding of the magnitude of the problem and the fact that you have to fight with yourself. Therefore, help and support from household members is highly desirable. But the main burden, of course, falls on the shoulders of the patient himself, and one must be prepared for this. You need to fully define your feelings and accept that you have a disease. Not a habit, not a feature of the body, not a condition, but a disease that must be overcome, not with the help of drugs or diet, but by changing the way of thinking and attitude towards oneself and others.

The main postulates that you need to instill in yourself:

1. Understanding your condition, realizing that it is a disease.
2. Refusal to hush up the problem, calmly discuss it with friends and family members.
3. Getting rid of the fear of being misunderstood or judged by others. Understanding that this is not the most important thing in the current situation.
4. Recognition of the complexity of the problem that has arisen and the need for considerable effort to resolve it.
5. Willingness to make certain sacrifices in the healing process - remember that only bitter medicine heals.
6. Determination to overcome your illness, a strong desire to return to normal.

Important! All attitudes must constantly be strengthened and nourished, because any weakening of self-control threatens the loss of all achieved successes.

In parallel with psychological treatment, you need to re-teach your body to react correctly to the amount of food eaten and to give signals of satiety. Here you need constant self-control, recording the amount of food consumed. Everyone knows how much he should eat at one time, and we must build on this amount, not allowing the average values ​​to be exceeded. It is useful to know the number of calories in common foods and the nutritional value of the food you eat. You need to be prepared for the fact that at first you won’t feel full and feed yourself purely mathematically, according to the principle “as much is enough.” You shouldn't expect quick results; you shouldn't improve; it will be a very long and difficult process. Usually it lasts from 2-3 years, it is impossible to predict anything more precisely, everyone has their own, individual period.

Experts advise at first to create a meal schedule that is more frequent, but with small portions, about 100-200 grams. In this way, the stomach stops stretching, it gradually reduces its volume and begins to get used to normal amounts of digested contents. At the same time, it is recommended to eliminate all distractions - TV, music, etc., in order to fully concentrate on thoughtful eating. You need to chew it thoroughly, feel the taste, smell, reviving all the body’s reactions.

A proper diet is a very important factor in fighting the disease. Following the recommendations of nutritionists for bulimics will help speed up the process of restoring body functions and establish the signaling system of the digestive complex. Let's look at the list of foods that can and shouldn't be consumed during treatment:

As can be seen from the table, the composition of the preferred products completely falls into the light, dietary category. This list is based on the need to remove the load from the gastrointestinal tract, ensure easier functioning of the entire digestive system and, most importantly, create conditions for contraction of the stomach.

Video - Bulimia Nervosa

Medication support

The psychological assistance measures used can be significantly enhanced by drugs that relieve stress and nervous tension. Excessive stress on the psyche will not bring any benefit; the use of antidepressants is a completely appropriate addition; the only condition that must be met is a consultation with a doctor. Only he will be able to correctly prescribe the dosage and determine whether this or that drug can be used in this case.

Most often used Fluoxetine And Phenibut. Both are classified as antidepressants, but act in the opposite way - Fluoxetine works as a stimulant, activating and mobilizing the nervous system. Phenibut, on the contrary, is calming and relaxing, which makes it most convenient to take before bed. With these differences, both medications promote resistance to hunger pangs.

Phenibut for the treatment of bulimia
Fluoxetine for bulimia

Folk ways to combat bulimia

Traditional medicine has in its arsenal some means to fight the disease. These include:

1. Garlic infusion. Several slices are grated on a fine grater and poured with boiled water at room temperature. Leave for about a day, after which you take one tablespoon before bed.
2. Linseed oil. Before eating, you should drink 20 ml of oil.
3. Wormwood infusion. A teaspoon of dry herb is poured with boiling water (1 cup). Drink 1 tbsp. Take a spoon half an hour before meals.
4. Infusion of mint with parsley. A mixture is made from equal parts of dried mint and parsley, ground into powder and poured with boiling water (1 tbsp mixture per 250 ml of boiling water). The infusion calms the feeling of hunger and lasts for about 2 hours.
5. Decoction of figs and plums. About 500 g is poured with three liters of water and cooked until about 500 g of water remains. Drink half a glass, four times a day.
6. Celery decoction. About 20 g of celery are poured into 250 ml of water and boiled for 15 minutes. The serving is for three doses before meals.

Video - How to treat bulimia

How long does treatment last?

Experts never determine the healing time in advance, which is explained by the complexity of the problem and the large differences in the psychology of different people. Many factors influence the condition of the body, how advanced the disease is, age, personality traits, weight, etc. The combination of all these features largely determines the intensity and duration of treatment. It usually takes about 2-3 years, and this is not an exaggerated period - the problem is complex and insidious. Any weakening of the regime, deviation from the chosen treatment order may negate all previous efforts and you will have to start all over again. In addition, it is not always possible to say unequivocally that the disease has receded, everything is behind us. The final decision is the prerogative of the patient himself, but he can also make mistakes, wishful thinking.

Psychological problems are insidious, they can return even if it seems that they are gone forever. Nevertheless, positive changes are noticeable quite clearly, and the resulting habit of self-control is a guarantee against relapse.

What to eat after finishing treatment

So, all the problems are behind us, life is wonderful. And now everything is possible. Or is it not? The opinions of doctors here agree that you should not immediately start eating all previously forbidden foods, since a sharp change in diet in itself is quite harmful; it can provoke, if not a return of past problems, then create the preconditions for it. At the same time, there is such a point of view: everything that is prohibited is most desirable. The stronger the ban, the more you want. For these cases, it is recommended to use a regime of reasonable consumption - you don’t need to drive yourself to obsessive visions, you just need to take and eat what you want, but in moderation. In this way, you can relieve the psychological stress that arises from the ban and save yourself from fighting desires. In addition, after a long diet, the body itself will not accept anything unnecessary; it will certainly give a signal that this product is undesirable. A little bit of everything - this should be the motto for everyone involved in a regular diet, and this can easily be attributed not only to bulimia, but also to most other ailments.

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I want to talk about what helped me cope with bulimia. The methods are simple, the main thing is to turn off the autopilot. Start looking at the world around you and listening to your feelings. To ask questions. And feed yourself - laughter, play, care and love. Then one day everything will fall into place again: eating for energy and pleasure, and not to drown out fear, sadness, resentment and anger.

Present

"I am crazy?" - you ask yourself in despair after another bout of gluttony-vomiting. A person suffering from bulimia is well aware that his relationship with food is not normal. One of the strongest fears is that the body will eventually not withstand the hellish regime of gluttony and vomiting and will become ill with some terrible disease. Ignorant well-wishers on forums are scary - “you are sick, you need to see a psychiatrist.” They think they are helping, but in fact they only increase the horror and provoke new attacks. You would like to stop, but you don’t have the strength. In principle, a smart psychotherapist could come in handy here - just as he could come in handy for your neighbor who can’t live without a cigarette for more than two hours, or for a friend if she’s terribly afraid of riding the subway. What I mean is that bulimia is just a neurosis, the same as nicotine addiction or panic attacks, it does not make you crazy.

Moreover, your bulimia is actually a gift of fate. I know, it sounds mocking now, when your throat is sore, your stomach is bursting from tons of food, tooth enamel is melting before your eyes and it’s scary to look at your swollen face in the mirror. But one day you will look back and realize that bulimia saved you. It gave you a chance to understand yourself, showed you what you are afraid of and what you would like more than anything in the world. Helped you discover the inner strength that you didn’t realize you had, so you could believe in yourself and start making your dreams come true.

I love Mary Oliver's short poem: “Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.” (“The one I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to realize that this too was a gift.”) A box full of darkness that is actually a gift is what bulimia is. Remind yourself of this as often as possible. Try to look at her as a friend and not an enemy.

Truth protects

Bulimics are subtle and impressionable people, creative people with a rich imagination. They sense the mood of those around them well, know how to inspire and support others, but they themselves easily fall into a state of panic and hopelessness. Food is an opportunity to satisfy the need for tenderness and security, which they lack, to relax and forget about fear, at least for a while. You behave like a child who is afraid of a thunderstorm - you draw exaggeratedly scary pictures in your head and dive under the blanket or hide from it in the closet.

Walk into your fear. Every day, do at least one thing that scares you. I'm serious. If you can’t imagine life without weighing yourself in the morning, don’t weigh yourself for at least a couple of days. If you are afraid to call on the phone, call and speak, even if your voice trembles. If you don't know the answer to a question, say so. If you turn off the road because you don’t want to meet an unpleasant person, go straight to him and say hello first. These small feats seem to have nothing to do with food, but they greatly increase self-esteem. And with high self-esteem, you will feel confident and happy - you won’t need to calm yourself down with food.

Also: you are used to eating secretly, because you are ashamed of the scale of what you have eaten. Plan your meals so that you only eat in the company of someone. The more fears you “bring out of the darkness” in this way, the less you will want to overeat. The salvation is to stop lying to yourself. Try not to induce vomiting after a bout of gluttony. Yes, it will be hard and scary, but you will take responsibility for your action and honestly go through the consequences. Next time, remember your feelings from a full stomach - they will help you resist. Remind yourself that the more often you choose to act honestly (not vomit), the stronger you are, and the weaker and less likely you are to bulimia. Facing the truth is your defense.

Neural pathways

At your worst, you feel like a zombie - as if food controls you, won't let you stop, even despite the pain. This is the great illusion of bulimia - you are like a sleeping Gulliver, whom the Lilliputians are trying to tie up. In fact, the desire to eat is just a conditioned reflex. It arose due to the fact that you did the same thing many times (children are annoying - I’ll eat a chocolate bar; I’m walking past the store in the evening - I’ll go in and buy some food; I sat down in front of the computer after dinner - I started throwing everything in the refrigerator). New pathways have formed in the brain - they are called neural pathways. These neural pathways link a stimulus (such as sitting in front of the computer after dinner) with the desire to eat. Over time, a specific situation automatically arouses the desire to snack.

The good news is that neural pathways emerge and become overgrown under the influence of our thoughts. When you, despite a strong desire, do not go to the candy store or stay in front of the computer instead of running to the kitchen, you weaken old neural pathways and create new ones - without the participation of goodies. Banning, distracting, running away will not work. The only way to free yourself and take control of eating is to go through temptation (an old habit) and thus create a new one. So next time, rejoice when a bout of gluttony hits—this is your chance to erase the conditioned reflex. Don’t be afraid, don’t tear your hair out - calmly say: “Yes, now I want to give myself free rein and eat. Yes, I can do it, no one can stop me. Then this conditioned reflex will become stronger. And I can give myself free rein and create a new one - I DO NOT overeat in the evenings. I DO NOT buy tons of food at the store.”

All you need to do is sit quietly with an unpleasant feeling of tension and anxiety (this is created by the anticipation hormone dopamine, which makes you feel like something is pushing you to eat). Wait it out, it’s like summer rain without an umbrella - the wave washed over and passed. You can read more in Gillian Riley's book “Eat Less. Stop overeating."

Healthy aggression

Bulimics usually give the impression of being very gentle, sociable, pleasant people. This gentleness is deceptive and comes at a cost to them: they first drown out anger, resentment at injustice, humiliation with food, and then splash it out with vomiting. They are afraid to say no, to express what is boiling over, to fight back - even for the purpose of self-defense. Hence the sudden mood swings from which loved ones suffer - I was just a sweet, caring girl and suddenly a monster is rude, rude, and hysterical. It’s as if a good and an evil twin live in the same body and first one comes out, then the other.

Start expressing not only your positive but also your negative feelings. This is absolutely natural and does not make you a bad person if from time to time you experience anger, disappointment, hatred, jealousy, panic, envy, resentment. To admit means, at a moment of stress, to say to yourself or out loud: I’m angry because... This person infuriates me because... I’m jealous... I’m sad... I’m offended... You’ll see, it will become easier and your mood will level out. If you have the opportunity, speak directly about your feelings not only to yourself, but also to the person who causes them. “I feel unpleasant/offended/angry when you say/do such and such...” The more often you practice openly expressing your feelings, the higher your self-esteem will be, the easier it will be to communicate with people and build relationships without resorting to to food as self-defense.

There are no mistakes, there is experience

Give yourself permission to make mistakes. Fall and rise again. When you were learning to skate or ride a bicycle and took a couple of good flops before something started to work out, it didn’t occur to you to judge yourself for your inexperience and mistakes? It's the same with bulimia. Accept that two and two make four, that it is impossible to lose weight once and for all and eat “perfectly.” For the simple reason that we are not robots, but people. You need to understand and accept periods of overeating, gluttony, and mood swings. THEY WILL. Just honestly telling yourself “I feel bad, I’m having a breakdown, a bout of gluttony” at the moment when they occur means gradually minimizing them.

Enjoy non-edible treats

An excessive craving for sweets and baked goods is also our longing for smells, colors and sounds. Imagine that the 5 senses (vision, touch, hearing, taste, smell) are five flowers on the windowsill. They need to be watered every day and make sure there is enough light and warmth in cold weather. You mercilessly fill the flower called “Taste”, gobbling up chocolates and cakes, while the rest are wasting away from thirst.

We distinguish approximately 10,000 smells, millions (!) of shades of color, and a symphony of sounds. We feel a touch on the skin: gentle, quick, rough, encouraging, timid, passionate, loving... All this is wasted - you are used to deriving joy only from food. You live as if in a remote closet: you woke up, ate your fill, threw up, and so on in a circle. There is a huge beautiful world around and it is full of inedible pleasures. Learn to enjoy them. What smells immediately lift your mood? I love the aroma of freshly washed clothes, peonies, earth after rain, apple pie, freshly brewed coffee...

Try to experience new sensations every day. Wear more bright, rich colors (clothes, manicure, berry makeup, flower hair clips). Fill the space around you with color: colored paper, a notepad, a pen, funny stickers, rhinestones, a lamp in the bedroom. Choose floral and sweet body creams, perfumes, aromatherapy oils and candles. Go to a store for artists, musical instruments - buy little funny things. I already talk about how important it is for good health to hug loved ones, friends, pets - at least 6 hugs a day!

Laughter

Try to look at your gluttony with humor. Laughter awakens the child in us - it makes it easier to accept the paradox of life and give vent to emotions. Believe in the best and continue to live despite any problems. For example, imagine yourself in the place of the girl in the picture eating the cake. “Yes, I’m hungry and I’ll eat until I burst!” Look for a reason to laugh heartily. This could be a video (dad figured out how to quickly do his daughter’s hair, but it’s better not to repeat it) or a funny picture, joke, song, whatever.

Collect photos of laughing people, animals that warm and make you happy - look through them from time to time. Keep a funny toy mascot on hand (how do you like my cheerful pink llama in stylish glasses?) Another source of positive energy is films/series where situations related to food and excess weight are shown with humor. One of the best is the tragicomedy “Muriel’s Wedding” with Toni Colette.

Set yourself a goal to smile at least once a day - to a funny kid you met on the way to work, to a salesperson, to a colleague, to a passerby chewing a popsicle in 20-degree frost, to an unfamiliar elderly woman with tired eyes on the subway... Before going to bed, ask yourself: what What made me the happiest today? why this? If the day turned out to be difficult, what was funny about it? Every time you can see the funny side of a difficult situation, you come out a winner.