Eating Problems

• eating problems Index Page
• Anorexia Nervosa
• Binge Eating Disorder
• Bulimia Nervosa
• Weight Control

Stopping bulimia using NLP/Hypnotherapy

There is no agreed explanation of how bulimia starts. It usually consists of a cycle of eating and purging, although some sufferers do not purge, they over-exercise.  Sometimes someone with anorexia nervosa conquers the anorexia and instead starts to be bulimic.  If you are suffering from both types of eating disorder then it would be good to read through our page on anorexia nervosa as well.

Most bulimics didn't start out doing anorexia and it really doesn’t matter where and when the problems began.

Purging and exercise serve to reduce or maintain weight and size. Once the cycle of eating/purging has started you find yourself caught up in a habit you cannot control. Like all habits, it has become something you do automatically. The bulimia habit usually leads to feelings of failure, self-loathing and depression.

Doing something about it

There are effective ways to stop bulimia, ways that work, ways that can help you overcome it and feel good about yourself again. We have helped lots of people to recover from this particular eating disorder.

Working with the present, not the past

Rummaging around in the past, trying to produce a reason or a meaning about how your bulimia began, can be a long process. And even if the cause of the problem is finally discovered it may well not be of any use; it is in the past. From a practical point of view it is far more useful to discover a way of stopping your habit dead.

Our treatments deal directly with the way that bulimia seems to take over before the cycle begins. We ask questions about how you experience it, and we take note of what you say, your body language and your voice tonality. We aim to find out the important details of how bulimia intrudes into your life. We work with you to break up the bulimia patterns of thinking because this is all that needs to be done.

A change of plan

It could be said that everyone troubled by bulimia has something in common with all other sufferers; they plan to do it. You might wake up and think about what, when and where you are going to eat and how you will purge. Or you might decide that today is a good day, later on enjoy a meal, then think that as you’ve eaten this much already you might as well have a blow-out and throw up anyway.

Whatever the details, there is an element of planning there. Someone who does not have thoughts about eating too much and then vomiting is very unlikely to find themselves doing it. Having the thoughts involves planning how to do it. Of course, you don’t deliberately plan all this; it happens automatically, outside of conscious awareness. To break the thought patterns is to stop planning to be bulimic, and you are then free of it for good.

Planning the changes

We use NLP to show you how to think in different ways; ways that help you bring flexibility and choice into your thoughts and feelings and behaviours.

We use hypnotherapy to put you in touch with resources you may perhaps have not been using recently such as confidence, resourcefulness and other good feelings. You can learn how to bring them into your life today. We also use story and metaphor to help in making the bulimia thoughts dim, unattractive, boring and wishy-washy.

The fear of bulimia

Most people with bulimia are driven by a fear of being overweight. They believe that if they do not purge they will put weight on. Unfortunately, being bulimic works against them. If you skip breakfast for example, you are hungry by lunchtime and the ‘old’ pattern sets in. If you have porridge for breakfast the slow release of energy sees you through until lunchtime, which you tackle with a normal appetite. Once you have got rid of the patterns and revert to healthy eating you can expect to find yourself moving easily and automatically to a healthy weight.

Nutrition

Most people with bulimia know a lot about nutrition. Fear of being overweight is great motivation to find out for yourself. If you do not know the basics of nutrition then we will always recommend that you consult a qualified nutritionist for specific advice before you see us.

Symptoms

These can include:

• Binge-eating; followed by inappropriate methods of weight control

• Employment of vomiting, fasting and enemas for weight control

• Excessive use of laxatives and diuretics for weight control

• Compulsive exercising for weight control

• Shape and weight concerns

• A loss of control during the binge episode

• The cycle of overeating and purging

• Feelings of failure, self-loathing, stress and depression.

How long will all this take?

On average it takes about two to four hours, that’s two to four sessions, of NLP and hypnotherapy. Sometimes, someone troubled by this eating disorder for years stops after just one session. We see the job as to help you change your behaviour pattern, feel better about yourself, and move away from bulimia towards a more fulfilling life, healthier and happier.