Bulimia Nervosa 

Feeling out of control with your weight, relationship with food, and behaviors can be debilitating for any individual. WellMinded Counseling can offer individuals hope and healing that can lead to recovery. With support, a mindset of body positivity, self-love, and self-worth is within reach.

Symptoms

Individuals that suffer from Bulimia Nervosa ingest large amounts of food in a short time period to the point of emotional and physical discomfort. This is followed by purging in an attempt to avoid gaining weight.
Purging methods include forced vomiting, excessive use of laxatives or diuretics, and extreme or prolonged periods of exercise. Often, during these binge/purge episodes, an individual suffering from this disorder will experience a loss of control and engage in frantic efforts to undo these feelings. These feelings often include anger, self-loathing, shame, guilt, sadness, withdrawal, and anxiety.  

Common Causes

  • Stressful transitions or life changes

  • History of abuse or trauma

  • Negative Body Images

  • Poor self-esteem

  • Professions or activities that focus on appearance/performance

    Oftentimes, disordered eating changes the way it shows up in a person's life and individuals can go from phases of their behavior being relatively unimpactful to debilitating. This is normal and reaching out for help at any stage can lead to long-term recovery and elimination of these types of patterns.

Treatment

We utilize evidence-based treatment to support recovery, foster healthy eating habits, and improve an individual's relationship with their body. A multifaceted approach to treating bulimia includes yoga as therapy, Wellness Coaching, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). Goals of treatment focus on: 

  • Discontinuing the binge-purge cycle: The initial phase of treatment for bulimia nervosa involves breaking this harmful cycle and restoring eating behaviors.

  • Improving negative thoughts: The next phase of bulimia treatment concentrates on recognizing and changing irrational beliefs about weight, body shape, and dieting.

  • Resolving emotional issues: The final phase of bulimia treatment focuses on healing from emotional issues that may have caused the eating disorder. Treatment may address interpersonal relationships and can include cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and other related therapies.

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