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Coping and support
By Mayo Clinic staffYou may find it difficult to cope with bulimia when you're hit with mixed messages by the media, culture, and perhaps your own friends or peers. You may even have heard people joke that they wish they could throw up after overeating — as if it were that simple.
So how do you cope with a disease that can be deadly when you're also getting messages that being thin is a sign of success?
- Remind yourself what a healthy weight is for your body, especially at times when you see images that may trigger your desire to binge and purge.
- Don't visit Web sites that advocate or glorify eating disorders. These sites can encourage you to maintain dangerous habits and can trigger relapses.
- Identify situations that are likely to trigger thoughts or behavior that may contribute to your bulimia so that you can develop a plan of action to deal with them. Also have a plan in place to cope with the emotional distress of setbacks.
- Look for positive role models who can help boost your self-esteem, even if they're not easy to find. Remind yourself that the ultrathin models or actors showcased in popular magazines often don't represent healthy, fit bodies.
- Resist the urge to diet or skip meals. Dieting actually triggers binge eating and makes it difficult to cope with stress.
- Find pleasurable activities to engage in. This can help distract you from thoughts about bingeing and purging and also help you develop healthy hobbies.
- Build up your self-esteem by forgiving yourself, focusing on the positive, and giving yourself credit and encouragement — just as you would do for a loved one.
