Bulimia Treatment
Professional Nationwide Bulimia Treatment
Bulimia Treatment is a no-nonsense website resource providing information on bulimia nervosa, signs of bulimia, symptoms of bulimia, bulimia side effects, bulimia tips and bulimia help. For bulimia treatment to be successful it is important you understand how your bulimia works, so if you're still researching information you'll find it here.
However, if you're ready to start bulimia treatment you should have a look at our bulimia help page.
Bulimia Treatment - Will Power Alone Doesn't Work...
If you've been suffering with bulimia for a while (over six months) you've probably already discovered for yourself that you can't get yourself out through will power alone. No matter how disgusted, shameful or resentful you are with respect to your situation and no matter how convincing you sound when you say "that's the last time, never again"... you always go back to it.
This is called addiction and is why self prescribed bulimia treatment doesn't work for you or anyone else. There is a reason you are stuck in this self-perpetuating cycle and will power alone has little effect on it.
Bulimia Treatment - Why Medication Doesn't Work...
If you've been to see a GP or mental health professional it's quite likely (even if you've not mentioned bulimia) that they'll prescribe anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medication. The issue with these types of medication is that they don't address the problem or underlying cause. They lull you into a false sense of security by temporarily suppressing certain functions within the brain which in turn damp down the emotional pain. The problem here is that it is temporary, and whilst you can enjoy the short term respite, the real cause behind your problem is festering and spreading in the background.
When you get used to the drugs (and possibly become addicted) the emotional suppression will cease and you may actually develop a host of other problems through chemical addiction. GP's rarely mention this up front when they write prescriptions, but if you do your research there are plenty of horror stories to choose from. In addition to the potential of medication induced problems you also have your original problem which has been quietly growing in the background. It is inevitable that it will come back and bite you - HARD.
So in essence, treating bulimia yourself doesn't work (which you already know) and taking medication will only give temporary respite leading to a hefty repayment with interest down the line.
Keep reading and find out what does work...
Bulimia Treatment - What Drives Bulimia?
All eating disorders (including bulimia) are emotionally driven. Food is merely a vehicle the disorder associates with. So it would make sense for us to pay less attention to the actual binge/purge process (which are merely symptoms of your problem) and focus on the actual problem itself.
Your real problem lies within your self perception. When you think about yourself (and how you fit into society) you experience strong unpleasant feelings (emotional states). The reason people take on eating disorders is to make physical changes to themselves in an attempt to 'feel better' or to 'fit in'. When you lose weight, you think you look better, therefore you feel better and you have control in your life. You equate controlling food with being happy.
Bulimia Treatment - How Bulimia Takes Over Your Life...
Unfortunately for eating disorders, your brain is programmed to keep you alive. This means that it takes steps within days of detecting a food shortage. It's true that you can lose weight and feel great for a few weeks, then it stalls as your brain shifts over to a food shortage program. This not only reduces, stops and then reverses your weight loss plans - it also changes you from feeling good about yourself to resentment and failure. You feeling as though you're in control quickly shifts to the obsessive compulsive eating disorder controlling you and running your life... so you have even more reasons to feel bad.
Thus in essence wanting to feel good about yourself and fitting in to society are both good things to pursue. Using diets, restriction and bulimia to achieve those things is a BIG mistake. You'll only get returns that way for a few weeks before things start to fall apart - then you have a lifetime of misery to look forward to.
Bulimia Treatment - The Hidden Secret Behind Bulimia
So how can you feel good about yourself and fit into society without taking the eating disorder path? Well, feeling good about yourself and feeling like you fit in are both emotional responses and in truth have nothing to do with what you weigh or food. You may want to argue that feeling good and your weight are the same thing, or at least reliant upon each other. This is precisely why you have an eating disorder alongside up to ten percent of the rest of the population!
You may believe you feel bad about yourself because of how you look or your weight. This is because when you think about it - you feel bad... and this is precisely what has evaded you. It is the process of THINKING that makes you feel bad, not your reflection, what the scales say or what magazines say. THOUGHT generates our emotions - not weight. The problem you (and other eating disorder sufferers) have is that you've directly associated how you feel with your weight and looks.
If you suffer from bulimia you'll probably be as stubborn as a mule over accepting this (wont you?) - so here is proof of what we're saying:
Think about something from the past that really bothers you - a time you were embarrassed, bullied or dumped. Go ahead and do that now, then continue reading.
Did it feel bad when you recalled the memory?
Now let's try one for the future. We want you to imagine gaining two stone in weight and having to go to a very social function where you're surrounded by beautiful people. Do that now.
Did you feel uncomfortable imagining the function?
So, you can remember things from the past and feel bad, and you can imagine things in the future and feel bad - even though NEITHER of those things are actually happening in reality in the present! Your feelings and emotional states are driven by your thoughts - not by actual events. Thoughts are fabrication and speculation within the mind - nothing else.
Bulimia Treatment - Understanding The Bulimia Process...
No doubt you wish to argue "but I am fat, I am ugly". So let's ask you another question. How specifically do you KNOW you are fat or ugly? You'll probably take a moment or two and then say "I just know". What you're actually doing is checking for an emotional response or feeling.
We already know what you do without even meeting you... we are good at this and have had plenty of experience. You talk to yourself in your head in a critical voice about your weight and how you look, you may (or may not) flash a picture or two into your head - then you feel bad inside and THIS is what convinces you that you're right. YOU THINK IT -> YOU FEEL BAD -> YOU BELIEVE IT.
The truth is (much as you'd love to deny it) that no matter what your scales say - you'll still convince yourself you're not good enough. An anorexic can weigh five stone and still believe with every fibre of their being that they're fat. This is because they are listening to their thoughts and emotions (fears and insecurities) rather than paying attention to reality. You are doing the same thing, although the mechanics of how your disorder works is slightly different.
Your fear of rejection is driven by thoughts... which in turn make you feel bad.
Your fear of weight gain is driven by thoughts... which in turn makes you feel bad.
Your self loathing and judgement is driven by thoughts... which in turn makes you feel bad.
Bulimia and food has just been a vehicle you used to temporarily feel better - now it's ruining your life. That's just the way eating disorders work... it's nothing personal.
The reason you initially though bulimia was a solution was because the weight loss and the control changed your thought processes from self criticism to self praise, from unhappy to happy, from unacceptable to acceptable, from having no control to being in control etc. You then associated the food control with emotional control... but as we said earlier, you only get this for a matter of weeks before the disorder takes over and consumes you.
We can give you safe, fast tools to change your emotional states far more efficiently than food or weight loss ever could... plus our tools are permanent. There are no rituals, no obsessive compulsive baggage, no side effects (other than feeling good about yourself) and using them puts no calories into your body. Sound good?
Bulimia Treatment - How The Treatment Works...
As a bulimia sufferer you're no doubt mortified by the prospect of weight gain. However, FEELING mortified actually has nothing to do with your weight... it's just an emotional response to the THOUGHT of weight gain. Anyway, nobody here would dream of making you quit bulimia - it serves you so well (see we are human and have a sense of humour!)
We are only here to make you feel better about yourself.
We already know when you feel good about yourself you'll have no need of bulimia. By improving your thought processes, you'll improve your emotional states. When your emotional states improve you'll feel better. When you feel better you simply wont have any use for bulimia (as you only did it to feel better in the first place). When you have no use for bulimia anymore - you simply wont subscribe to it... it's too much like hard work.
We'll talk about lots of things during your recovery and you'll learn specifically how you work in your head. You'll gain huge self-awareness and realise how your old self destructive patterns were always doomed to fail you. On the upside you'll learn new ways to think, gain new perspectives and with those come a sort of inner kindness that you've been lacking for so long. Imagine for a moment it's your best friend with bulimia (rather than you) and consider just how kind, supportive and understanding you'd be towards them. You see, you have it in you to be that way - but you need to learn to apply it to yourself. We can help you get there.
The things we wont do:
- We wont bang on about food, calories and nutrition (because that's not the problem)
- We wont dig up and dwell upon your past (because that wont fix what you do today and tomorrow)
In terms of the actual bulimia treatment, you'll be assigned your own Specialist Consultant who will work with you throughout your recovery. You wont be passed around between different people having to repeat yourself.
There will be no report writing, box ticking, risk assessment or any other type of unnecessary paperwork. We are here to get you results not justify a public sector budget. The only written information we require is your name and contact details - that's it.
Most clients meet with their Consultant for one session each week either face to face or online. Having one session each week isn't rigid and we'll work with you according to your preferences and requirements. You will be given a support telephone number for help between sessions should you need it.
Although we are able to teach you new tools, skills and perspectives very quickly - it is entirely up to you how rapidly or steadily you progress. We will only ever work at YOUR pace.
We are a private Clinic and thus it is for our clients to fund their own treatment. However, the good news is that our fees are very, very affordable - particularly in view of our specialised expertise. We also work on a 'pay as you go' basis so there's no big bill up front or at the end of your bulimia treatment. You only pay for the time you need.
You will find details of our fees and payment methods by following these links:
