Preventing Purging

The best way to keep yourself from purging is to stop yourself from binging. See this section for helpful tips.

The first thing I recommend in preventing yourself from purging is taking a deep, cleansing breath. I know the frenzy of guilty, accusatory thoughts that run through your mind when you feel the need to just get the food out of you. But take a calming breath and try to relax your body. Find a quiet place where you can sit and sort out your thoughts. Write them down if you can.

After about an hour, the calories have been absorbed into your body and purging is essentially useless. If you can find someone to sit with you, or some way to prevent yourself from being alone during that time, you may be able to stop yourself from purging by reminding yourself that it wouldn't do any good by now.

It may also be helpful to keep a list handy of all the things that purging does to your body. Esophageal hemmoraghing, stomach ulcers, heartburn, indegestion, tooth decay, bruised and scraped knuckles, bloodshot eyes, burst blood vessel, cardiac arrythmia, electrolyte depletion, heart failure, aneurism. This is just a brief list. There are many more potential dangers, not all physical.

This is the best picture I've ever seen that prevents me from purging. It is a photo of the teeth of a bulimic woman after years of purging.