Bulimia

[johnnyhoney0]

Originally Posted by Windscarredfaith

Maybe you should give her lots of compliments all the time, even about small things, just to perk up her day, and boost up her confidence level.

As a boyfriend, I do that a lot anyway, and I condone that behavior for everyone! You're right, though, about boosting her confidence level. As I'm sure is common sense, bulimia is somewhat of a self-confidence issue, so anything along the lines of "I really liked that green and white-striped polo you wore to the DMV today" helps.

Originally Posted by Windscarredfaith

Be sure to be there for her as much as you can

Yea, I hear that from everyone. It's frustrating for me though because I don't feel like that's doing enough. Everyone, including every doctor (including my dad), that I've talked to says that really the only thing I can do is just to be there for her as much as I can. Of course, I follow that verbatim: you couldn't drag me away from her if you really wanted to! It's just that I can't accept that as being the only thing I have the power to do, so I'm trying to figure out if anyone that has been through this did anything extra to help speed recovery besides just being supportive.

Again, don't get me wrong here. I agree with everyone who says that being close and not getting upset with her behavior is very important for those who are spectators. It's just that I feel like I should be able to do more than that.

Originally Posted by Windscarredfaith

have you guys found what's making her turn to bulimia? Is it stress, abuse, peers?

I'm answering this based solely on what I'm very sure/know for sure about from her past. I'll answer by giving you a brief history up to today.

Basically, there was a verbally abusive/controlling boyfriend about two-three years ago that caused her eventually to start to feel so bad about herself that she resorted to bulimia. Back then, it was because of that guy. Now, it is simply a habit. She can't stop doing it. It is her way of dealing with any stress in her life. There is no more abuse at all, in any aspect of her life (except, of course, the abuse she causes to her own body), and peers play no role at all.

As for the other possible cause you mentioned, the only stress in her life is that of everyday life in high school, which is no more stress than anyone else her age is going through. Except for her, this is too much a lot of the time. She will blow some little problem way out of proportion and it will cause enough anguish to make her start a binge/purge cycle. That, of course, is what bulimia does to its victims. It screws up your mental processes to a higher degree than many other anxiety-related diseases.

Since there really is no environmental factor causing her symptoms now, it really is only a matter of treatment and overcoming the disease. Until then, she will continue her binge/purge cycles habitually (4-6 times a week is what I've found that she averages).