In my late 20s, I started recovering frombulimia.
The hardest part of sharing my story has been the jarring realization that bulimia remains wreathed in stigma.
Bulimia thrives on silence and isolation.
Yulia Reznikov / Getty Images
Combating prevalent misconceptions and chipping away at stigma are large parts of that.
So, here are the points I wish everyone understood about bulimia and those who struggle with it.
Not everyone with bulimia makes themselves vomit.
As a result, I regularly suffered from joint and muscle pain and recurring injuries.
It still never felt like I was doing enough.
Bulimia doesnt just affect young girls.
As such, my troubled relationship with food stirred up tremendous shame as I approached my late 20s.
That couldnt be further from the truth.
Having grown up in England, I’m particularly interested in understanding this issue where Im from.
Still, its clear that these types of disordered eating behaviors can emerge or persist at any age.
Ultimately, the point is that eating disorders dont discriminate.
Bulimia isnt really about vanity.
Some people mistakenly assume thatbulimiadevelops out of vanity or wanting to emulate thin celebrities.
Instead, dieting, bingeing, and purging felt like a coping mechanism at timesa balm for uncomfortable emotions.
They might not know where to go to get treatment or how to ask for help.
A lot of people feel embarrassed or ashamed about the behaviors that bulimia is causing.
Willpower isnt enough to overcome bulimia.
Bulimia is a complex … disorder that usually requires outside assistance to disrupt and change, says Zweig.
Its incorrect to assume that willpower alone is adequate to change it or any other mental health problem.
For me, binge-eating and purging did often feel akin to an addiction.
The more I tried to stop, the more out of control I felt.
Once I accepted that I couldnt force myself to overcome this problem alone, I reached out for help.
Only then was I able to start building a healthy andintuitive relationship with food.
People with bulimia arent always underweight.
We need to stop using peoples appearances as a barometer of the gravity of their illness.
To this day, close friends and family are often shocked to learn about my past issues with food.
My earliest experience of telling someone about my bulimia was extremely invalidating because of this myth.
At the time, I was severely restricting my calories and purging daily.
Bulimia can be harmful and even life-threatening.
Theres a common (and incorrect) notion thatanorexiais the only serious eating disorder, says Zweig.
Bulimia can even be life-threatening.
Sadly, there are multiple ways bulimia can kill, like by throwing a persons electrolytes off-balance.
Certain symptoms of bulimia can compound the risk of potentially lethal complications.
I experienced suicidal ideation at my lowest point with bulimia.
Getting help as early as possible can make it easier to change harmful patterns, says Stewart.
Its possible to recover from bulimia.
When I first started recovering from bulimia, I abstained from potentially triggering foods Id previously binged on.
Eventually, though, I startedconsuming all foods in moderationagain.
Recoverylooks different for each person with an eating disorder, just as the illness can manifest in myriad ways.
While theres always potential forrelapsein eating disorder recovery, its not inevitable for everyone.
It is important for patients and their families to know that effective treatments do exist, says Zweig.
All of these treatments require commitment and effort but can produce lasting change.
Reaching out for support is an integral part of this process.
Very few people recover from bulimia on their own, says Zweig.
FBT is designed to help patients establish healthier eating habits with the support of those close to them.
(CBT has been incredibly helpful for me.)
The goal is to help patients adjust the beliefs, attitudes, and cognitive processes that maintain their disorder.
Dialectical behavior therapy(DBT) has also shown good results for the treatment of bulimia, says Zweig.
DBT is meant to teach people new skills (like mindfulness) to challenge disordered eating habits.
Although Ive made monumental strides in recovering from bulimia, disordered thoughts occasionally slip through the cracks.
