Battling with bulimia

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Real Life

“It’s weird how much of your mind you can’t control, or even understand.” Lucy (not her real name) is

a bright and bubbly 20 year old who has suffered with bulimia since the age of 14. She has always been sociable and had lots of friends. Looking at her, you’d never believe that she spent her schooldays fast-ing and throwing-up after her feeble and irregular meals. But, much like many young people with eating disorders, Lucy didn’t tell anyone about her bingeing and purging. “I never ate breakfast or lunch, but I’d come home and have dinner so no one would get sus-picious. Then I’d go to the toilet after and get rid of it. I felt guilty when I ate it, but still did it so no one would find out.”

Lucy’s experience is all-too common. A survey carried out by eating disorder charity Beat found that 56% of eating disorder sufferers didn’t disclose their problem to anyone because they didn’t know how to talk about it. A further 64% waited longer than six months before confiding in someone, and 87% didn’t seek medical help when they first realised they had a problem.

Hoarding junk food, bingeing and vomiting in secret. Eating disorders are all over the TV, but most sufferers keep the secret to themselves. One survivor reveals her shocking story

Lucy’s own problems stemmed from her parents’ divorce. “I turned a bit rebellious and crazy when my parents split up. I suppose it was a way of punishment, I felt guilty for them splitting up.”

Ironically, at school Lucy’s friends often confided in her for advice, even about their own issues with food. “My friend at school made herself sick and she used to talk to me about it,” she recalls. “I used to tell her how bad it was, and to stop.”

But despite this, Lucy didn’t feel like she could re-spond by telling

anyone else about her own disordered eating habits. Instead, her problem just continued to progress. “I didn’t do it every day because I barely ate anything anyway, but if I ate something and felt full I’d feel guilty and go get rid of it. It wasn’t enjoyable, that’s why I didn’t eat much – so I wouldn’t have to do it. Then it progressed and I started bingeing, like what they show on TV – eating loads of chocolate and stuff like that.”

According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, eating disorders are seven to ten times more common in women than in men, and an estimated four out of a hundred women suffer from bulimia at some point in their lives.

What if you suspect your friend has an eating disorder?

“Approach the topic kindly and non-judgementally, but firmly. Eating disorders are dangerous and often fatal. Keeping quiet only enables them to continue to do damage to the sufferer. People feel shame

about having an eating disorder, which is one reason they hide it from others. The person with the eating disorder will probably not want

to get help immediately, but even just being able to talk about what they are thinking and feeling with someone who knows about it can represent the beginnings of recovery.” - Tina Shore, Caraway Clinic

87% of sufferers don’t seek medical help

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usually until their twenties. People most often seek help when their life changes - the start of a new relation-ship or having to live with other people for the first time.

Lucy’s habits changed when she began a new

relationship, during university. “My boyfriend found out about it and I

haven’t done it since, so I don’t know if it’s embarrass-

ment or humiliation that has stopped it.”

Like anything, eating disor-ders take time to overcome. Research has indicated bulimia sufferers often take an average of five years to normalise their eating habits.

Although Lucy has not made herself sick for a long time, she admits that she still feels guilt

after eating too much. “If I eat too much now I’ll still get the guilt, I try and resist but it won’t

leave my mind.”

There is still hope for Lucy,

and other suffer-ers alike. Another academic study into bulimia

suggests that around 45% of sufferers make a full recovery, and 27% improve considerably.

Regardless of what they have stemmed from, be it a broken home or bullying

at school, all disorders should be treat-

ed with care. It seems that because most eating disor-

ders develop at a young age,

blame can be put on parents. Shore says: “We

live in an imperfect world. Probably the one thing parents could do to prevent a whole host of psychological disorders, including eating disorders, is to simply accept themselves and their kids just the way they are.

“A true sign of health is not feeling guilty after one eats.”

If you think you have an eating disorder:

Having an eating disorder can be very serious, so it is best to seek professional help as soon as possible.

Visit your GP Your GP can refer you to a specialist counsellor, psychiatrist or psychologist

Get specialist treatment as soon as possible Look at the various options open to you in your area, and select the one that suits you best Go somewhere that specialises in eating disordersIt is important to go somewhere that makes the sufferer feel welcome, and offers a range of different treatment modalities. Somewhere that knows how to deal with each individual case

Do you have an eating disorder?

If any of these things apply to you on a regular basis, your eating may be disordered.

o I am unable to maintain a healthy weight

o I feel guilty, ashamed, frustrated, or disappointed in myself after eating

o Food and my weight are central to my life

o I skip meals and make excuses to others about my eating pattern

o Losing control of my eating and weight is a fear of mine

o I turn to food for comfort

o I find I am very sensitive to others’ comments about food, eating, weight, or shape

o Certain foods are “safe”, “bad” or “addictive” in my view

o I either avoid, or spend an inordinate amount of time, weighing myself or looking in the mirror

o I try (or have the urge) to compensate for the calories I have consumed by rigorously exercising, using laxatives inappropriately, or purposefully making myself vomit

Real Life

and I felt the need to do it. When my friend told me she was doing it, I guess it just put another idea into my head about how I could get back at my parents for splitting up. Although they didn’t know, some-how it made me feel bet-ter knowing I’d done it. I was angry. It doesn’t make sense, but it felt satisfying punishing myself.”

Shore explains that eating disorders can arise from many different things, and do not usu-ally have a single origin. Some of the things thought to be linked with eating disorders are: inci-dents of separation or loss, a home environment which denies personal wants and needs, and sup-presses negative emo-tional states, and oversensitivity and concern about the thoughts, feelings and needs of others.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists found that onset of bu-limia often starts in mid-teens. But because it is easy to hide, when sufferers decide to seek help it is not

Get help...For more information

help and guidance contact:

www.carawayclinic.co.uk www.rcpsych.ac.ukwww.mind.org.ukwww.b-eat.co.uk

Young people are more prone to de-velop disordered eating habits because of changes going on in their lives. Tina Shore, co-founder and co-director at Caraway Clinic for eating disorders in Reading, described how certain environ-ments could promote eating disorders. “There is undoubtedly a competitive element to looking attractive. Teenagers are especially prone to peer pressure, as their identities have not fully established themselves.”

Perhaps the fact Lucy’s friend was doing it, made her think she should too. “It must have got into my head somehow,