THE BULIMIC MERRY-GO-ROUND

The bulimic cycle is just like being on a merry-go-round and round and round you go. Something triggers your agonizing urges, which sends you to overeat and then vomit. You suddenly feel briefly relieved, but then the overwhelming thoughts and feelings of guilt and self-criticism begin again.

So rather than slowing down your merry-go-round so you can hop off, it often speeds up and spins so fast, you’ll be lucky to retain your case, let alone your phone, as you fly off into the abyss!

One of the main reasons you binge is to remove your uncomfortable “urges to binge.” If you could learn to be more accepting of your binge urges, they wouldn’t cause you so much difficulty, and then you would be in a better position to ignore them rather than act on them.

HOW FAST IS YOUR ROUND ABOUT SPINNING?

Let's talk about where you are now, and your binge-purge cycle of

behavior, otherwise known as the chain of events.

What are the chains of events that cause this pattern to spin?

1.   Limiting your food intake by dieting.

2.   Which causes massive tension and cravings.

3.   Then up spring your vulnerable eating triggers. You see, feel, hear, taste, or smell something that triggers you.

4.   Your urge to eat builds into uncontrollable fear and panic.

5.   Which then automatically sends you into the fridge where you eat as much as you can then purge.

6.   Then the relief and feelings of calmness floods in briefly.

7.   The final link in the chain of events is the feelings of shame, guilt, disgust, self-criticism, regret, etc.

It feels like this chain is on a never-ending cycle repeating itself as it becomes a habit.

LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT YOUR CHAIN OF EVENT

Understanding how the pattern of your chain of events unfolds is a fantastic move forward on your road to recovery as you work through the steps. The roundabout will begin to slow down as you become aware of your specific chain and the significant changes you can make.

Your very first step in changing your whole pattern is NOW. STOP restricting your food. It is possible, and you can do this now!

HOW DOES IT ALL BEGIN? … WITH DIETING!

This is where you need to break your chain of events. Because if you’re dieting and depriving yourself of food or not eating at all, your metabolism will be working very sluggishly. You’ll be more vulnerable to your bingeing and purging cycle. Your triggers will be heightened, and your thoughts will be excessively negative.

In simple terms, your body needs to function correctly by getting food and nutrients, but when your whole body becomes deprived of food, then the tension and the never-ending stream of thoughts about eating come. Your triggers become amplified, which then intensifies your urges, causing you to binge and purge.

Therefore, if you aren’t eating healthily, you’ll never break through your chains, and the roundabout will never slow, let alone stop. But if you change the first step, then you can change the whole chain of events, and how exciting it would be.

As you work through this course, there is a variety of different techniques to help you to begin to break this essential first step in breaking your patterns.

In Step 4, you’ll be beginning to introduce your structured eating program to help you with learning how you’re going to stop dieting and restricting your food and start to eat healthily.