Compulsive overeaters ask themselves how to stop binge eating (stop overeating), often with no workable answer. Binge eating disorder help and support is available though, and it is possible to stop overeating. For compulsive overeaters, food becomes like their drug and, like any drug addiction, this one can be stopped. Compulsive overeating is challenging to treat, however, because you need to eat food to live.

Stop Binge Eating By Learning to Eat Healthily

One way to stop binge eating is to focus on eating healthy meals in a healthy way. Help for binge eating often includes a dietician and they can help put the focus on nutrition and health to stop overeating. Healthy eating includes eating balanced meals and making sure the diet includes all the necessary vitamins and minerals to reduce cravings and stop binge eating. To stop overeating, the binge eater needs to focus on transforming their relationship with food by focusing on nutrition and finding new ways to handle their emotions.

Tips to Stop Overeating

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, "portion control" is an important method to overcoming the habitual pitfalls of overeating.

Here are eight key tips and tricks to stop overeating in its tracks:¹

• Stick to your binge eating treatment plan. Don't skip therapy or medical appointments and don't let a setback keep you from your goal to stop binge eating.
• Stop dieting. Restricting foods, calories, fat or carbs can create an urge to binge eat. In order to stop overeating, focus on proper nutrition and not labeling a food as either "good" or "bad".
• Eat breakfast. Skipping breakfast often leads to overeating later on in the day. A healthy breakfast can stop binge eating urges and kick your metabolism up first thing in the morning. Studies show those who eat breakfast are thinner than those who don't.
• Avoid temptation. Binge eaters like to stockpile and hide foods, so they can secretly binge later. Stop binge eating by cleaning out these stashes and not having these temptations around.
• Exercise. Exercise is a healthy way to lose weight. Exercise increases your metabolism and your muscle mass while decreasing stress and depression.
• Find ways to de-stress. Learning ways to remove stress and positive ways to deal with stress help stop overeating by reducing triggers to binge eat.
• Attend Overeaters Anonymous (or similar) meetings. Ongoing support from others who also battle overeating can help both parties stop binge eating and get on a healthy diet plan in the future.
• Know who to call when you feel like bingeing. Help for binge eating needs to include a social network of support. Know what to do if the urge to binge becomes too powerful.

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Binge eating disorder help comes from two places - from those around the overeater and from the overeater themselves. Knowing how to offer help for binge eating disorder is extremely important to the successful recovery from this troubling problem. Often those who love the binge eater feel pain in knowing that their loved one has binge eating disorder, but this pain can be alleviated through positive action and by offering binge eating support.

How to Offer Binge Eating Disorder Help

Loved ones play an important role in offering binge eating disorder support. It is important to treat the binge eater with respect and care and understand they have a mental illness and need professional overeating help and not disgust, scorn or ridicule.

To offer binge eating disorder help, try these things.¹

• Educate yourself about binge eating and binge eating support.
  Most people have very common but very wrong perceptions about what overeating is, and this lack of knowledge affects the kind of overeating help they can offer. It's critical to learn the facts about binge eating disorder through the overeater's doctor, an eating disorder treatment center, a book or a web site. Overeating help can only be truly offered once binge eating disorder is understood.
• Offer binge eating disorder help without judgment.
  Most binge eaters already judge themselves harshly for their binge eating behavior. They often feel shame and suffer from low self-esteem so the last thing they need is to experience judgment from those offering binge eating support. The binge eater needs a chance to express themselves, the process of recovery and their needs without fearing the overeating help will disappear.
• Encourage positive behaviors.
  While those offering overeating help should never turn into the "food police," loved ones can offer binge eating support by purchasing, or not purchasing, specific foods likely to spark a binge. Good ways to offer binge eating support is to welcome the opening up of the overeater and by celebrating the overeater's achievements in stopping binge eating behavior. (read about the symptoms of binge eating disorder)

Helping Yourself Manage Binge Eating Disorder

Managing an eating disorder is hard work and, in spite of a person's best efforts, overeating help will not always work. The binge eater may slip up from time-to-time, but this is an expected part of treatment. The important thing for the binge eater to remember is that recovery is a process and binge eating support practices can help get them through it.

Binge eating recovery should always include positive, self-nurturing activities such as yoga or meditation. Journaling binge eating thoughts is another way of including overeating help in daily life. These activities are part of the overeater learning to be kind to and love themselves. Additional binge eating disorder recovery and coping techniques for the overeater include:²

• Easing up on themselves - no one is perfect and no one deals with an eating disorder perfectly all the time.
• Identifying possible triggers - understanding the possible triggers of a binge is important so those triggers can be dealt with ahead of time. Binge eating therapy can be used to develop the skills to identify and cope with triggers.
• Looking for positive role models - binge eating disorder help does not come in the form of overthin models and actresses. Looking for role models who can lift self-esteem and provide a healthy body image is best for binge eating support.
• Finding a trusted friend - treatment of binge eating disorder will bring up many issues for the binge eater and they need the right person to open up to; knowing the person will offer binge eating disorder support.
• Finding other binge eaters - it's easier to fight binge eating when overeating help is offered by other overeaters. It gives all the overeaters the opportunity to offer binge eating support and be supported through their recovery as well.

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Binge eating disorder support groups can provide significant emotional support as well as resources for getting binge eating disorder help.

Binge eating disorder directly affects about 2% of the population (more binge eating statistics) and can cause many health problems, most notably surrounding obesity. (read about effects of binge eating on compulsive overeaters) It can be challenging for overeaters to stop binge eating due to the shame and depression they feel. These feelings can make their binge eating disorder worse. Binge eating disorder support groups offer help and education in a nonjudgmental environment where the overeater knows everyone around them and personally knows their struggles in dealing with this condition.

Compulsive Eaters Anonymous or Overeaters Anonymous Can Help

The question "how to stop binge eating" deserves not one answer, but many. A key component in the quest to stop compulsive overeating can be the use of binge eating disorder support groups such as Compulsive Eaters Anonymous or Overeaters Anonymous. Both of these organizations have been around for years and have proven success rates in providing support to individuals suffering from binge eating and compulsive eating disorders.

Theory of Overeating Support Groups

No matter what path of binge eating treatment a person chooses, one thing all experts agree on is that someone battling this illness needs a strong support system. A binge eating support group can be an excellent part of the support system helping someone to stop binge eating.

Overeating support groups are generally made up of other binge eaters who know first-hand what it's like to try and stop overeating. Immediately this builds an important bond that's key to a support system. Support groups help binge eaters by offering hope, encouragement and advice on coping with this troubling problem. Binge eating disorder support groups also:

• Provide a warm, friendly environment
• May share stories of people who successfully stopped binge eating
• Can be there for the overeater long-term

Compulsive Eaters Anonymous and Overeaters Anonymous Meetings

Compulsive eating or overeating support groups take many forms in an effort to help people manage their recovery. They may be lead by a health care professional or a volunteer. Two volunteer organizations are Overeaters Anonymous and Compulsive Eaters Anonymous.

Overeaters Anonymous meetings (often just called OA meetings) are similar to those of Compulsive Eaters Anonymous. Overeaters Anonymous and OA meetings are built around a 12-step program derived from Alcoholics Anonymous. Both groups treat compulsive eating as an addiction, like alcoholism. OA meetings only require a desire to stop binge eating to attend.

Overeaters Anonymous and Compulsive Eaters Anonymous share the same 12 steps and 12 traditions. Additionally, these support groups help binge eaters in many ways.

• Offer a program of recovery
• Offer worldwide meetings
• Address the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of a person with binge eating disorder
• Provide a sponsor - a person that will help the overeater when needed
• Charge no fees, making the binge eating support group meetings available to anyone wanting to recover

Find a Compulsive Eating Support Group

• Information on Overeaters Anonymous meetings
• Information on Compulsive Eaters Anonymous meetings
• Information from ED Referral on eating disorder (including binge eating) support groups
• National Eating Disorder Alliance - lists both online and in person support resources

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Every binge eater has a binge eating disorder story to share. Each person has a unique road from binge eating to overcoming overeating. Reading these binge eating disorder stories can be of help in overcoming binge eating disorder.

Binge eating disorder often has its roots in psychological issues, part of which drives the compulsive overeater to feel shame and hide their overeating symptoms and behaviors. Binge eating disorder stories about overcoming overeating can help a binge eater realize they have a problem and may be the key in getting the binge eater to seek professional binge eating disorder treatment.

How Binge Eating Stories Help

Many binge eating stories start with a person in denial about their eating disorder. The compulsive overeater reading the story is often also in denial. Seeing themselves echoed in the stories automatically builds a bond between the reader and the overeater (author).

Binge eating disorder stories then typically show a spiral further down into the disease, talking about how the binge eating behaviors took over bigger parts of the overeater's lives. Compulsive overeaters can see the behaviors in their own lives that they previously couldn't understand.

Binge eating stories then talk about the turning point that initiates the process of overcoming overeating. The turning point often shows the compulsive overeater why they too should get professional help.

Finally, binge eating disorder stories talk about the help they needed and their success in overcoming binge eating. Binge eating stories show the readers that help is available and that recovery is difficult, but that ultimately overcoming overeating is worth the effort. This encourages compulsive eaters to get professional help and become one of the successful binge eating stories.

Read Binge Eating Disorder Stories On Struggles and Overcoming Overeating

• Maura: "I'm a Compulsive Overeater"
• Eva: Overcoming Overeating Came From Within
• Sunny: Food Brought Me Comfort. Then Compulsive Overeating
• Anonymous: From Anorexia to Binge Eating

From Maura, a Compulsive Overeater

This compulsive overeating story is described as "gut wrenching" for the author who continues to work on overcoming overeating.

Like many binge eating stories, Maura starts overeating for comfort in seventh grade and experiences worsening overeating patterns as she goes through a trauma of sexual abuse. Her father's negative comments on her size increase her feelings of self-hatred.

Maura then tells of getting help, both for her childhood trauma and her eating disorder. As in most binge eating disorder stories, this is the turning point in overcoming overeating for Maura.

Read all of Maura's compulsive overeating story to see how she was a picky eater as a child, survived trauma and then went through years of counseling before she could begin to tackle her binge eating disorder: Maura's Story

Eva on Overcoming Overeating

Eva begins by talking about many of the treatments discussed in other binge eating stories and says that her overcoming overeating has come from within her, more than from a specific program.

Eva describes her turning point as a refusal to let others, or society, dictate who she was and what she could do. This decision wasn't specifically about overcoming overeating but about reclaiming her life and doing the things she wanted to do like swim.

As in many binge eating stories, Eva comes to realize that the ignorance of others is not a reflection on her or her self-worth. Read more about Eva's overcoming overeating and the drug treatment that is helping her recovery: Eva's Story

Sunny's Binge Eating Story

Binge eating stories often begin where Sunny's does: at a stressful time when only eating brought comfort. In Sunny's case, it was when she was 14 and her parents were fighting and talking about divorce. Sunny describes a "frenzied pattern" of eating including sneaking food and overeating at home and while babysitting.

Sunny admits to what many admit to in binge eating stories, "I thought I was a pig and a freak, because I couldn't stop this weird, secret, uncontrollable eating." Sunny hid her weight gain from others.

Sunny's turning point is when she went to a family counselor who finally gave a name to what was happening: compulsive overeating. It is the counselor's help and the resources he suggested that makes recovery a reality for Sunny.

Sunny's Story

Find out more about Sunny, who is now at a healthy weight and runs the site HealthyGirl.org.

My Story of Binge Eating Disorder (BED)

This story is written by an anonymous woman in college who has had binge eating disorder for 2-3 years. Unlike many binge eating disorder stories though, her binge eating developed after a five-year fight with anorexia.

The author describes recovering from anorexia only to gain too much weight and begin bingeing instead of restricting food intake. It took years before she finally admitted she had exchanged one eating disorder for another.

The author admits that "I sometimes have trouble recognizing exactly what I'm feeling because all emotions tend to feel like 'I want to eat.'."

As in most binge eating stories, the author tells of the extreme toll binge eating has taken on her body and her life. She feels unaccepted, has few friends, overspends on food and knows that bingeing wastes time that she should be spending on other things.

Finally though, the author becomes more confident about dealing with her overeating. She is seeking binge eating treatment and making progress towards complete recovery. Read more about the author's binge eating story from childhood to college and how she realized that she was using bingeing just to comfort herself. My Story Of BED

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From Maura...

Hi. This is really gut-wrenching for me. I'm at work right now, and surreptitiously typing this, desperately hoping that no one will look over my shoulder.

What is compulsive eating? It is my nemesis. It is my greatest enemy, my greatest fear, the specter that haunts my life and steals my serenity, that teaches me to hate myself - something I have treated as a "friend" for the last fifteen years without realizing how much I was betraying myself by continuing the "friendship."

I have always had a distorted relationship with food. When I was very young, I remember being very thin and being known in the family as a "picky" eater. I was literally frightened by unknown foods. I felt "safe" with Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, plain pizza, Pepperidge Farm white bread, Charleston Chews, and Bumble Bee tuna. (I think I must be the most brand-loyal person I know! A marketer's dream...)

Through the beginnings of recovery, I have kind of figured out that my idea of "safety" in familiar foods has a lot to do with my environment when I was a child. Both of my parents were (are) alcoholics - my mom was a screamer, my dad was passive-aggressive. There was a lot of yelling at dinnertime. I could never predict what my parents would act like, but at least I could predict and rely on the comforting taste of macaroni and cheese casserole. At this time, I didn't overeat, I think; I just had an amazingly limited palette of foods that I would willingly eat. I resisted (just about the only way that I was not the "perfect" daughter) trying new foods vehemently.

As far as I can remember, I began to overeat compulsively in seventh grade. It was a tough time for me (as it is for most girls) - physical development, social isolation, emotional imbalance. At this time, I began to look to my mother for guidance, but she was so wrapped up in her own problems that she had little or nothing to give --- except her example. Aside from being an alcoholic, she was a compulsive overeater herself, retreating into the bedroom after her nightly fights with my father to eat and read romance novels. And eat she did. Two bags of Ruffles Sour Cream and Onion potato chips, 2 liters of Coke, maybe a box of Wheat Thins all in one sitting.

I began to eat for comfort then, and gained weight as I was developing a woman's body. The taunts from my classmates at being slightly chubby led me to eat even more, and grow more and more fat. I think, at this time, I might have broken the growing dependency, but in eighth grade my self-loathing was increased a thousand-fold when I was sexually abused by my brother. And so the cycle increased - food comforted me.

I Didn't Want To Be Like My Mother

Around this time, I remember my dad saying something to me about my weight gain. "You don't want to be like your mother, do you?" (with all the disgust he felt for her obvious in his tone). I, too, shared his hatred of her size and moods and eating habits; being compared to her by him only made me feel worse about myself. I fixed that by coating it with ice cream, candy, Yodels, Ring Dings, Cheese Nips....

I'm twenty six now and weigh around 210 (5'7"). Despite some "success" in my life (I graduated Phi Beta Kappa from a private university and have a steady job as a teacher, a wonderful boyfriend, and a few good friends), I really hate myself. I manifest this hatred with my eating - when I'm sad, I eat. When I'm lonely, I eat. When I'm bored, I eat. When I'm feeling bad about myself (most of the time!), I eat.

It's funny. For years, I congratulated myself for "recovering" from my sick childhood. I'm not an alcoholic, I've never done any illegal drugs, I have a great education and a good job and a clean apartment and friends. But this year, I finally sought help for depression. Around January, I was very close to killing myself. I chose not to, (duh!), mostly because the father of one of my students committed suicide last year, and I've witnessed what havoc and torture that has caused her family. I resisted all drug therapy at first - I could talk about that for another 20 paragraphs! - and started "cognitive" therapy. Although I made some progress with cognitive work, I was still bingeing and hating myself and crying often. Finally, after three months, I tried Prozac. It's been a relief from my most acute depressive symptoms, but has not arrested my compulsive eating. My HMO is not agreeing to more one-on-one counseling for now, so I recently started trying 12-step groups. [I had always resisted 12-step programs - my mother is, I'd say, a compulsive AA member...and I never wanted to be like HER!] I went to a couple of ACA (Adult Children Anon.) meetings, a CODA meeting...then finally, TWO DAYS AGO, I walked into an OA meeting.

I feel some hope right now. Weight Watchers didn't work (lost 35, gained 50), "willpower" didn't work, beating myself up over and over again didn't work...I have some hope that OA might work. As a lapsed Catholic and big-time doubter, I don't know how to work in a "Higher Power." But I'm filled with hope. For once, losing weight isn't my first priority. I'm really going to try to love myself, treat myself better. I hope losing weight will be a product of that.

Physical symptoms? Depression. Fatigue. Muscle aches. Asthma. Irritable bowel syndrome (I think that's what it's called.) Backaches. Pain from waistbands that are too tight. Pain from bras that are too tight. Stretch marks.

None of that is as bad as the inner pain, the low self-esteem, the shame, the isolation, the embarrassment. This is what I really want to work on.

Thank you so much for this site, and for all of you who shared your stories with me. God bless you all; I wish you all recovery. Naming this has been important to me. Hearing your words of hope and wisdom has been invaluable.

My name is Maura, and I am a compulsive overeater and an adult child.

(Discover how binge eating disorder stories about overcoming overeating help other binge eaters)

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From Eva...

It is interesting to me that I am a compulsive overeater and I have just found your pages doing research for a paper. I have tried OA, Jenny Craig, The Diet Center, Weight Watchers, starvation, purging, ... you know, run the gamut.

Anyway, maybe because I am now 38 years old I have come to see my weight as more of a physical handicap. I don't like being fat and am now down to 335. I recognize the emotional side of being fat, have had the depression, the self-loathing, and let it rule my life. I made my choices based on what I could and couldn't do because of my fat.

When I was about 30, I decided that I wasn't going to let other people's ignorance and prejudices rob me of my life. I swam, I started school, I did whatever I wanted. It took awhile, but I even met a man who cared about me as a person, not as a body.

Somewhere this must spell the start of recovery, though I am not exactly sure where. I do know that I can recognize ignorance in other people and not accept their judgment as my definition. Very freeing. My current weight loss feels very comfortable. I think I am finally ready. I am using a prescribed appetite suppressant, have had no side effects, and am very happy with the results. I find that it helps with the obsession about food, almost more of a "psych" drug than any kind of appetite suppressant I have used before. No speedy feeling. At first, I kinda thought using it was cheating, that I hadn't dealt with the underlying emotional issues of my weight, but now I wonder if it hasn't been more an issue of brain chemistry and less of a character defect all along. Just my thoughts.

My encouragement is with you.

(Discover how binge eating disorder stories about overcoming overeating help other binge eaters)

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Research over the last five years has found that binge eating disorder is actually twice as common as anorexia and bulimia combined in women of all backgrounds and ages, including teens (binge eating statistics). I was one of them.

In high school, I'd skip lunch just like the other girls or pick at fries when we'd congregate at McDonald's. But when my parents started fighting and ultimately, talking divorce-a puzzling, frenzied pattern of eating started to emerge. At 14, I sat on top of our German shepherd's doghouse in the middle of the night, a can of frozen orange juice concentrate in one hand, a spoon in the other, crying and scooping the syrupy stuff into my mouth until it was almost gone. At 15-alone a lot, with my father out of the house and my mother working more than one job, I ordered and ate two small pizzas the night I broke up with my first boyfriend.

Soon, I was sneaking into the kitchen almost every night-praying my mom wouldn't hear the wooden floors creak- to eat three, four, five pieces of bread with butter and peanut butter or to nuke a huge plate of chips and cheese for makeshift nachos. When I babysat my neighbors' kids, or cleaned their houses for extra cash, I spent half the time rifling through their cupboards, stealing their kids' Little Debbie snacks and potato chips.

I thought I was a pig, and a freak, because I couldn't stop this weird, secret, uncontrollable eating.

Hiding Results of My Compulsive Eating

I started wearing big, baggy sweaters or sweatshirts over leggings to hide what I thought was an unacceptably fat body.

When I ate seven candy bars in a row one afternoon, I knew there was something desperately wrong. That's when my mom sent me to Mitch, the family counselor both she and my dad had been seeing throughout their divorce. He gave a name to what I had been doing: compulsive overeating-what's now also known as binge eating disorder-and he gave me a book to read, Feeding the Hungry Heart, by Geneen Roth.

While it was one of the most important things I've ever read, the true beginning of my recovery, it was meant for grown ups. Women with kids. Married women. I couldn't fully relate to the people in the book. 

Today, I'm no longer binge eating. I'm a deputy editor at Redbook magazine in New York City, and am at a healthy and stable weight. After years of hating myself, hating my body, and abusing it with way too much food, I'm finally healthy and happy. I want you to be, too!

(Discover how binge eating disorder stories about overcoming overeating help other binge eaters)

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I have had some degree of binge eating disorder for the past 2-3 years.

Before that, I had a restrictive eating disorder, closest to anorexia, for about 5 years. I ate extremely healthfully and exercised a lot. I got in excellent shape and lost some weight, but I didn't stop there, and eventually, eating less and exercising more, I became very underweight and sick. When I finally realized I couldn't beat the disorder on my own, I got help, went to therapy, got some antidepressants. I made some significant progress, but when it came to gaining weight and eating more, instead of putting in the hard work and learning moderation, I started binge eating.

I would eat 2 half-gallons of frozen yogurt almost every night. I would also run around my room in circles for 3+ hours a day and eat next to nothing during the day, so I stayed at a fairly low weight. The binge eating was actually encouraged by my family, as they were just happy to see me eating.

Out of Control Eating

Once I went off to college, things got more out of control. I couldn't exercise as often, and I also started eating more. I expanded my repertoire of binge foods to include other things since I couldn't store large containers of ice cream in my refrigerator. I started spending upwards of $20 a day on food. Over that year, I gained more than 50 pounds. And the binge eating continued on for another year after that.

It took a long time before I accepted that it was a problem. I desperately wanted to be free from having an eating disorder, and I was especially embarrassed to think that I now had a problem with eating too much rather than too little. I told myself it was just a natural reaction to the previous years of starvation. But when the binging never tapered off, I had to admit that I had only exchanged one eating disorder for another.

I learned more about binge eating, online and in books. I now recognize the many causes of binge eating - a really disordered behavior. I eat primarily as a way to cover up emotions. I've gotten so good at it that even now, I sometimes have trouble recognizing exactly what I'm feeling because all emotions tend to feel like "I want to eat." I binge because it's a way to escape from whatever other worries I have in life, zone out while I'm eating and then even afterward know I, at least, have this one big problem that I can use to explain away everything else that is wrong in my life. And I binge because it's such a comfort: it brings back feelings of needing to be cared for when I was sick with anorexia, and it's such an old habit now that without it, I feel lost not knowing what to do with the extra time not spent binging.

Complacent with Binge Eating Disorder

Some days, it doesn't feel too bad. My health is not in immediate danger (effects of binge eating disorder). I am still living a fairly normal life. But the truth is that BED causes major problems everyday. The shame I feel from having gained so much weight, even with all my attempts at body acceptance, is just the beginning. BED causes me to miss social functions and thus to not have very many friends. It is the worst waste of my money. I spend hours eating that I should spend doing schoolwork, which means I don't do as well in my classes as I could. And the feeling of disappointment and hopelessness I get after every binge episode is just soul-destroying. I am acutely aware that nothing is normal about this; it's not just my anorexic mind thinking I'm eating too much. I can eat more boxes of cereal AND more tubs of ice cream AND more bags of chips AND more pieces of fruit in one evening than most people eat in a month.

I want nothing more than to be free of this eating disorder. I have made substantial progress in the few months since I finally accepted that it is a disorder and have been actively pursuing recovery. I can go for much longer periods without binge eating, and many episodes are reduced to compulsive overeating on a smaller scale. I am confident that full recovery is a possibility. But at the same time, I know I have a lot more work to do, learning to cope with my emotions and to love myself. I hope my story can be informative and comforting to people suffering from a similar problem, and in the future, be a story of the hope of true recovery.

(Discover how binge eating disorder stories about overcoming overeating help other binge eaters)

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What is bulimia? It is a potentially life-threatening mental illness that is as much about body image as it is about food.

Bulimia Nervosa (typically just referred to as bulimia) is an illness that is difficult to detect as it can be brought on by normal behaviors and can initially have no external signs and symptoms. Often, it's only once the bulimic is sick that family members find out about bulimia, ask what is bulimia, read more about the bulimia definition, and in retrospect, see the bulimia warning signs.

When the family looks at a bulimic, they often see a moody, teenage girl obsessed with her body and her appearance. She seems like many other teenagers - obsessed with looking like the latest pop sensation. She is often average to above average weight, so the families don't mind her dieting behavior. When she gets upset and complains that diets don't work, her family might even try to help her maintain strict eating habits as they feel they are helping her.

But the family doesn't know that what they're seeing is part of bulimia. The bulimic is working very hard to hide her binge eating and purging behavior. Inside, the bulimic's stomach is cramping, and only appears bloated due to excess water weight caused by bulimia. She is hiding severe tooth decay, gum problems and cavities. It hurts for her to swallow because her esophagus has been damaged from all the purging. Her heartbeat is no longer regular and may actually fail resulting in death. (read Effects of Bulimia)

Once the family finds out the bulimic has been binging and purging, they are often disgusted with what she has been doing. They see the problem as merely behavioral and think she could stop if she wanted. But the bulimia definition is that of a mental illness, not a behavior, and just like any other illness it requires recognition and professional treatment for bulimia.

Information On Bulimia Causes

Bulimia is a complex disease and information suggests there is not a single cause of bulimia. Both environmental and genetic risk factors have been found to increase the risk of developing bulimia. Andrea D. Vazzana, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at New York University explains:

"Personality traits, such as perfectionism and impulsivity, and a history of physical or sexual trauma have also been identified as risk factors for developing these disorders. Ballerinas, models, jockeys, and others whose jobs require them to stay in peak physical form are at particular risk of developing eating disorders. Having a family member with an eating disorder also increases a person's risk of developing an eating disorder.³"

(Get detailed information on the causes of bulimia)

Bulimia is more common than anorexia and has been on the rise for about 30 - 40 years.

"As the pressure to be thin has become more pervasive, eating disorders are occurring at earlier ages and among a more diverse ethnic population," says Dr. Vazzana. "Despite these trends, the people who are most at risk for developing eating disorders continues to be white females in their late adolescence and early adulthood."

While being overweight and dieting doesn't directly cause bulimia, these two factors tend to be the first steps in developing bulimia nervosa. (See dangers of dieting.)

Information on Bulimia Treatment

While hospitalization may be necessary for bulimics who are in danger of having a heart attack or other serious medical problems, most cases of bulimia are treated outside the hospital (read: Bulimia Treatment Centers). But even as families learn bulimia information, it can be very difficult for them to help during the treatment of an eating disorder. Dr. Deanne Pearson, whose doctoral dissertation focused on athletes with eating disorders, explains:

"...it is important that parents understand this "monster" [eating disorder] ...takes over the personality, and realize that anything they say to their daughters "will be taken and used against them." This element of the eating disorder frequently confuses parents... As parents try to say helpful things, they find that their words are rejected over and over again. But... they should realize that the "monster" control element ...is rejecting them, while their daughter, trapped in a prison of self-destruction, loves and needs them very much.¹"

It's important to remember what bulimia is: bulimia is a disease, and bulimics should be presented with information on bulimia and not be punished for it. Judith Asner, MSW, with over 20 years of experience treating bulimics, explains:

"Punishment doesn't help anything ...you can appeal to their intellect ...you can present them with literature on the facts of eating disorders and talk to them about your concerns and try to encourage them to seek help, but punishment doesn't help."²

(Get comprehensive information on bulimia treatment)

Information On Bulimia Recovery

Recovery from bulimia is possible but is hard work and relapse is a real possibility. Bulimics need information on bulimia and supportive people around them to keep them on track, explains Asner.

"...the more accepting you [the bulimic] are of yourself, the more you can be honest about who you are with others, and you can ask them to help you in any way you need to be helped. The support of people who are there for you is essential.⁴"

The road to bulimia recovery can include therapists, nutritionists, doctors, support groups, family and friends, but it's important not to give up, "It is never too late to get well ...I see many women who do recover after 15 or even 25 years," says Asner.

Bulimia Repercussions

Physically, the most severe repercussion of bulimia is death, which is relatively uncommon in bulimics and is typically due to suicide and depression. Bulimics can hide the physical impact, often for years, but eventually bulimia can negatively affect the brain, lungs, heart, stomach, musculature, and kidneys. (read: dangers of bulimia.)

People with bulimia are typically preoccupied with their body, body image and diet and as bulimia further develops these preoccupations become obsessions. Little conversation or even thought revolves around anything other than weight and eating habits. Bulimics feel the need not only to control their food intake but also almost every other aspect of their lives.

Bulimia and the Media

Bulimia is often fueled by dissatisfaction with one's appearance and this can stem from the images seen throughout Western culture. An obsession with thinness leads to dieting, which often leads to eating disorders such as bulimia. Susie Orbach, PhD, and body image expert remarks:

"...our visual culture is something new that is having an impact on women. Each week, we see thousands of images in the media, in advertising, and in entertainment, of digitally transformed and "beautified" bodies. These images enter our minds and reshape our own relationships to the body and our ideas of what beauty is. The focus on thinness... we are told that not having a specific body shape is bad.⁵"

Dr. Orbach also cautions that as more visual media are focused on men, they too are becoming obsessed with body image. This can lead to behaviors associated with the bulimia definition, including overexercising and exaggerated participation in sports.

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It is extremely difficult for someone to admit to being bulimic as bulimics tend to feel a great deal of shame about their disorder . Bulimics are also good at hiding their bulimia symptoms, so it's important for those around them to know the signs of bulimia to catch this potentially deadly disease as soon as possible for the best chance at bulimia recovery.

Early Signs of Bulimia Nervosa

The best time to stop bulimia or any eating disorder is before it starts and knowledge of environmental risks and early warning signs of bulimia can help.

Psychological Signs of Bulimia Induced By Environment

Adolescents often become preoccupied with looks, thinness and fitting in, and while this is normal behavior, this can also be the perfect breeding ground for an eating disorder. Flipping through fashion or health magazines might seem harmless but if the person has internalized psychological issues such as low self-esteem, these images can serve to create a need for the person to strive for unattainable physical perfection.

Psychological risk factors for developing bulimia include:¹

• Low self-esteem
• Perfectionism
• Substance abuse
• Depression or anxiety
• Obsession with body image and looks

The behavior of one's family, social circle and personal challenges are also risk factors for bulimia:

• Dieting of other family members, specifically the mother
• Family history of eating disorders
• Participating in activities where weight is emphasized such as ballet, gymnastics, weight lifting, figure skating or swimming
• Being overweight
• Dieting (dangers of dieting)
• Being praised for losing weight
• Personal trauma such as physical or sexual abuse

Symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa

If an eating disorder has already taken hold, the symptoms of bulimia can initially be subtle but can be picked up on by family and friends who recognize the signs of bulimia. Because bulimia typically stems from a psychological disorder or dissatisfaction, that can often be the first sign. Bulimics often put unrealistic pressures on themselves to be perfect in aspects of their lives outside of their looks. This pressure comes from a desire to control the bulimic's life, just as they control their food intake and weight.

Psychological symptoms of bulimia include:

• An unrealistic view of the bulimic's body, including possible body dysmorphic disorder
• An overwhelming desire to be perfect and upset at any perception of imperfection
• Anxiety or depression

Physical Signs and Symptoms of Bulimia

Unlike anorexia, where a dramatic drop in weight is an obvious sign of the eating disorder, signs of bulimia can be easier to miss. Often bulimia symptoms are seen as "normal" from the outside because those around the bulimic don't immediately see their severity. (read: Effects of Bulimia) Even once symptoms of bulimia are noticed, the bulimic typically denies having an eating disorder making it difficult to even address the problem. Anyone with multiple signs of bulimia should be screened for an eating disorder. (Take bulimia test.)

Different Signs of Bulimia for Different Types

While all types of bulimia involve the intake of calories and the suppression of the intake of calories, this can manifest in different ways. The two types of bulimia are purging and non-purging bulimia, chiefly differentiated by the way the bulimic rids themselves of calories.

• Purging bulimia - Regular self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics or enemas to compensate for binges (overeating)
• Non-purging bulimia - Other methods are used to rid calories and prevent weight gain, such as fasting or overexercising

In should be noted that while most bulimics purge after an excessive intake of calories (binge eating), some bulimics purge after even small amounts of food intake.

General physical symptoms of bulimia include:

• Fluctuations in body weight
• Loss of subcutaneous fat
• Low blood pressure
• Feeling cold
• Erosion of teeth, cavities
• Abdominal pain
• Swallowing or esophagus problems
• Bruises, calluses, scarring and abrasions on the hands
• Broken blood vessels in the eyes (from the strain of vomiting)
• Pouch-like appearance to the corners of the mouth due to swollen salivary glands
• Rashes and pimples
• Dry mouth

Behavioral Signs

In addition to the above physical bulimia symptoms, there are behavioral signs of bulimia too. These symptoms are the commonly seen behaviors in bulimics. Behavioral symptoms of bulimia include:

• Constant complaints of being ugly or fat
• Not wanting to eat in front of others
• Becoming vegetarian, vegan or restricting types of food eaten for other reasons
• Smoking, as it is believed to prevent weight gain
• Impulsive behaviors such as self-cutting or sexual promiscuity
• Going to the bathroom during or right after meals
• Diabetics may withhold insulin
• Secretive eating

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