Bulimia Nervosa

Fortunately, there are plenty of rehabilitation centers and eating disorders units effectively helping people get over bulimia nervosa successfully. During the treatment process, a team of professionals will collaboratively work with patients to develop critical goals and achieve them to set the foundation for ongoing recovery. Some of these important treatment goals include:

Learning New Patterns of Behavior

It is entirely possible to stop the cycle of purging and binging. To achieve this, experts apply a range of interventions, such as psychoeducation, a regular nourishment pattern, and a therapeutic environment where patients can learn and apply their newer, healthier behaviors.

Developing New Emotional Coping Skills

A lot of people with bulimia seek comfort in their eating disorders from painful emotions. For such people, experts aim to develop a toolbox of healthy emotional coping skills that these patients can utilize to soothe themselves.

Increasing Self-Confidence

Learning to challenge difficult situations is the core of exposure work in an eating disorder recovery plan. Whether it is a social situation, a food item, body image, or exercise, taking baby steps toward these challenging areas can help patients develop self-confidence without using any eating disorder behavior to escape.

Professional Treatment for Bulimia Nervosa

For most people, treatment for bulimia nervosa includes changing their binging-purging behaviors while working on controlling their distorted thought patterns. A comprehensive treatment plan often combines psychotherapy with medications to achieve goals effectively. The plan takes place under the supervision of a care team which may include mental health professionals, medical doctors, and dietitians.

Psychotherapy

The following three forms of psychotherapy are particularly helpful in the management of bulimia nervosa:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on recognizing and changing the underlying negative thoughts and behaviors about one’s body shape and weight. With CBT, patients learn how to change these thoughts or replace them with healthier ones while learning new coping mechanisms to delay or avoid purging behaviors. 
• Dialectical behavioral therapy works on the principles of CBT while focusing on practicing mindfulness, improving relationships, learning emotional regulation skills, and increasing distress tolerance.
• Family-based treatments include several approaches that involve a patient’s caregivers, parents, or other family members to help them take complete control over their eating behaviors. Eventually, these therapy sessions allow the patient to regain control of their meal planning and execution until they free themselves from an unhealthy relationship with food.

Medications

Many individuals with underlying bulimia nervosa suffer from co-existing mental health issues, such as depression or anxiety. To manage these co-occurring disorders, an expert may prescribe:

• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), for example, sertraline), fluoxetine, and paroxetine, to treat low mood
• Selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), for example, venlafaxine and duloxetine to manage anxiety and depression