Bulimia is an eating disorder characterized by a sharp, paroxysmal increase in appetite, as well as a feeling of excruciating hunger and general weakness of the body. To cope with such a disease is possible only with an integrated approach. Therefore, the help of both a psychiatrist and a psychologist is needed.
With bulimia, a person's entire life seems to be subject to food. All other areas of life fade into the background. Interpersonal relationships, career, family ties and many other issues cease to interest a person, which is why problems also appear in them. It turns out a vicious circle: it seems that a person seems to "seize" all his problems. After another bout of gluttony, he necessarily blames himself and falls into depression, but he cannot break out of this circle.
If the cause of bulimia is a certain disease of the central nervous system or endocrine system, it is impossible to cope with it without the help of a specialist doctor. And if the cause is psychogenic factors, the help of a psychologist is invaluable. Such psychogenic reasons can be: dislike in childhood, a traumatic situation, lack of faith in oneself, a difficult perception of life and a lack of a sense of humor, loss of meaning in life, low adaptability, refusal of responsibility, etc.
With the help of a psychologist, the patient can realize the true, deep reasons for such behavior, identify the presence of intrapersonal conflicts and work them out. Only by accepting yourself whole, you can move on and overcome the addiction to food.
Since the causes of bulimia are different for each person, further work of the psychologist is planned taking into account the patient's personality. Various trainings or individual work on changing habits, behavior in general, increasing the level of self-regulation and self-control can help in the fight against bulimia. Work on increasing stress resistance, overcoming anxiety, and increasing self-esteem is also effective. For example, by assessing which situations most often cause stress or severe anxiety, you can in the future overcome such situations in more adaptive ways, without harming your personality and your own body.
Attending support groups, communicating with those who have already dealt with the problem or are also on the way to solving it, help people with bulimia. Most often, such groups are organized with the participation of a doctor and a psychologist, and therefore the recommendations and advice of the "experienced" heard there are always effective.
Together with a psychotherapist, positive psychological attitudes and mental models associated with the correct attitude to food are developed. In some particularly difficult cases, hypnosis is effective, although psychologists use it very rarely. Still, this is the sphere of activity of psychotherapists and psychiatrists, i.e. doctors.
