Bulimia Nervosa has a lot of side effects that negatively affect the quality of someone’s life. Sometimes people will forego the treatment altogether thinking that they just have to live with the condition, but this is not true. Like all other eating disorders, Bulimia Nervosa is treatable but the treatment process will take time. The proper treatment can save your life or the life of a loved one even if it seems hard to do.
Treatment Options:
The first thing to know about bulimia treatment is that the treatment options are different for adults than kids or teenagers under the age of 18. Adults are usually offered self-help books and guides that will help them take matters into their own hands as they work with a health care provider. Most of the time the efforts of a nutritionist and a therapist should be combined to achieve the best results.
For children and teenagers under the age of 18, family therapy is the route to go. Involving the family in the treatment process will help the therapist analyze the main reasons behind the condition. This will ultimately help him or her craft a tailored therapy plan to help combat bulimia and its side effects.
Treatment for Adults:
Adults are offered to counsel through a self-guided program. This will involve keeping an account of everything they eat to identify the binging episodes and creating realistic and balanced meal plans to help them avoid going beyond the limit of normal.
This self-help approach is followed under the supervision of a therapist who will help the patient identify the triggers that can push them into a binging episode and cause them to engage in unhealthy eating patterns. A therapist might even prescribe an anti-depressant to help the patient cope with the stimulants that push people to binge than purge.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is usually offered to help the patient identify the main emotions and thoughts that push them to have a distorted body image. CBT is usually offered in weekly sessions for 20 weeks and focuses on reducing the concern and anxiety about weight and body image. Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is another approach that focuses on the relationships that trigger binging behavior. Therapy allows the person to stick to a healthy eating pattern by offering an alternative to combat negative feelings to prevent them from relapsing once the treatment is concluded.
Multiple Treatments:
Bulimia (https://quitmyeatingdisorder.com/bulimia-nervosa/) is usually associated with other conditions like depression, substance abuse or anxiety. If this is the case, your therapist might address those concerns first before proceeding with your bulimia treatment.
Doctors also try to pay attention to the physical side effects of bulimia before trying to treat the condition itself. When left untreated for a long period, bulimia usually causes internal inflammation in the digestive tract which can eventually lead to internal bleeding. Some patients might overuse laxatives and diuretics to the point that messes up with the way their bodies work. Others suffer from the serious side effects of prolonged dehydration.
Some patients get bored or discouraged because the treatment process is long. However, it is always critical to understand that the proper treatment will take time and that full recovery is possible. If a patient feels extremely depressed or suicidal, then they should immediately contact the doctor.
