Hey I have been diagnosed with EDNOS/ BDS and I know that I binge when I am stressed and sometimes I have control not to but other times I give in and binge which leads to the binge & purge cycle... What other strategies can I use to have more control to stop a binge?
I'm sorry if this has been asked a million times before
Oh, in the dark we could hide
But we're human
We're human, so we fight.
And we can be higher than our hearts And I'll be a fighter by your side.
Give me shallow thoughts and deep breaths;
Just stay calm...
Hi there. I'm sorry it's taken you a while to get a reply. Have you tried distractions when you feel like bingeing, or even relaxation techniques to try and bring your urges to binge under control?
Are there certain foods you binge on? if so, it's worth not keeping them in the house. Or doing your shopping daily, so you don't have enough food to binge on.
It doesn't matter where you come from; it matters where you go.
No-one gets remembered for the things they didn't do.
We won't all be here this time next year,
so while you can take a picture of us.
We're definitely going to hell,
but we'll have all the best stories to tell.
Hey, I have a few strategies for not binging but once I've eaten something I feel I shouldn't its a spiral into eating everything I can find... Which makes me feel awful.
Oh, in the dark we could hide
But we're human
We're human, so we fight.
And we can be higher than our hearts And I'll be a fighter by your side.
Give me shallow thoughts and deep breaths;
Just stay calm...
Do you have any 'safe' foods that your mind wouldn't consider a binge that you could stock up on?
Could have healthy snacks prepared for when you want to binge?
If you are going through a binge purge cycle are restricting as well? because if you are this could very well be the cause of your bingeing
Could you keep a thoughts dairy for when you do binge? so you can learn the emotional triggers to your bingeing and work on dealing with them is different ways
Hey, I have some nice snacks that I like at home, but I find a binge rarely starts at home... It is usually at work or uni, and starts with hot chips or a chocolate bar and spirals from there :( I don't know what I could substitute instead ... Its related to my anxiety and the worse my anxiety gets the more likely to binge, and once I do it makes the anxiety worse and becomes a cycle... I have managed the last few times to not purge but I do struggle a lot with restricting. I find I am very critical of journaling but I have never tried for stuff relating to how I'm feeling when I have a bad time with food. I'll try :)
Oh, in the dark we could hide
But we're human
We're human, so we fight.
And we can be higher than our hearts And I'll be a fighter by your side.
Give me shallow thoughts and deep breaths;
Just stay calm...
Are there any healthy snacks you could take out and about? like cereal bars, hard fruits, a small container of prepared pasta. Do you take a lunchbox to work? If so does it contain filling and long release energy foods?
Do you have any anxiety strategies for when you start to feel the anxiety building up?
To be honest if you are in a binge restrict cycles the only real way to stop is stop the restricting. I know in your head when you've just binged you want to restrict because of how you feel about bingeing but it will only make the cycle go round. I think it could be really helpful for your bingeing to really work on not letting yourself get too hungry and looking at your emotional triggers for foods.
Sending more hugs :)
Last edited by Ranger Fairy : 05-05-2013 at 04:31 PM.
Thank you for the reply... I've been very slack with ryl the last week or so because of uni.
I take healthy snacks to uni but really struggle as once I've eaten them I find I am still stressed and anxious and end up buying food which leads to a binge as there isn't any healthy food.
My strategies for coping aren't that great most of the time as they involve isolating myself and trying to relax. Which is nearly impossible at uni. I'm not sure what strategy I could try for uni?
I've tried really hard not to restrict after a binge but it just ends up feeling like the binge goes on and on... Like the last few days I haven't really restricted and feel like I've gained a lot of weight, which makes me want to restrict more?
Ty for the hugs
Oh, in the dark we could hide
But we're human
We're human, so we fight.
And we can be higher than our hearts And I'll be a fighter by your side.
Give me shallow thoughts and deep breaths;
Just stay calm...
Could you try not bringing any money to uni? (bring your healthy prepared lunch and snacks)Could you bring more healthy snacks if you are eating what you are bringing?
Would it be possible to play relaxing music on an ipod/phone at uni even if it's for a few minutes?
Have you ever tried Cue relaxation? It's where you practice relaxing and say a particular phrase or word to yourself as you do it. I'd try with something you know relaxes you and associate it with the word or phrase you want to use by saying it to yourself as you are relaxing. Your time your body physically relaxes when you say the word/phrase to yourself. So you could say it in your head when your uni and it could help you feel calmer and less tense. It needs a lot of practice though, but could be worth it if it may help you when out at uni.
Have you tried self encouragement talk? You say encouraging things to yourself, for example ' I can do this' ' I can cope' 'This will pass, I can get through this' I know the concept of saying comforting things to yourself can be hard for some people, but I have personally tried it and it really can help even if it's only a little bit in the moment. I can hate myself sometimes but I've given this a go and found it helpful.
Have you basic breathing exercises that you can do while out and about?
It must be really hard for you if haven't restricted but still binged but honestly please continue not to restrict as it can take a lot longer then a few days for your body it get the message that it's not starving so doesn't to binge. Keep reminding yourself that it's proven that restricting leads to bingeing.
Could you try starting with things that are easier to say; that are about the situation passing e.t.c rather than about yourself than move one to things that you believe about yourself sometimes?
I understand that saying calming/comforting or 'nice' things to yourself can be very difficult but practice will make it easier. Even if you don't believe the things you are saying repeating them over and over can help you to start to have some belief in them. In the same way that saying positive or negative things to other person can really affect their self-esteem in the relating positive or negative way.
Well done for adding more breathing and relaxation in, keep going with it
