The Two Essential Steps In Bulimia Recovery {Guest Post}

I had tried to recover from bulimia hundreds of times. In fact, every night as I closed my eyes I’d make that all too familiar promise…

“Tomorrow will be different – I will not binge or purge”

Each morning started with that intention. The intention of health and freedom from bulimia. The intention of making good on my promise.

I figured that since overeating was my problem, the way to recovery was through a strict and restrictive diet… That way, I wouldn’t over eat. Dieting could help free me from bulimia!

Every morning by 10am I’d be bending over the toilet with a burning throat and watering eyes…

I used my daily failing at ‘recovery’ as proof that I was worthless, useless and out of control.

How My Final and Successful Recovery Attempt Was Different

I couldn’t live another day in the darkness of bulimia. After 10 years I decided it was time to share my secret and ask for help… I reached out to a counsellor at my university. What I learnt from her and from the journey that followed would change my life.

I learnt two crucial steps that summarize the ingredients of a successful and complete recovery… I can see now that these two steps are entirely logical, but polar opposites to what I’d done in all my failed recovery attempts.

My unsuccessful recovery attempts had included diets and self abuse…

However, the true steps to recovery are based in nourishment. Nourishment of your body and nourishment of your soul.

Nourishing Your Body In Bulimia Recovery

All of my unsuccessful recovery attempts started with the intention to diet. I saw successful dieting as the key to a life of peace.

I was so wrong.

Dieting is one of the most unnatural things we can do to our bodies. We are designed to be fearful of famine… It is built into the fabric of our beings that when food is scarce, we should look for it at all times. It’s this basic human fear that has helped to keep us thriving on this incredible planet for thousands of years.

This fear of famine is housed in the sub-cortex of our brains. This is a part of our brain that is very primitive and doesn’t understand logical reasoning. Your sub-cortex doesn’t understand the difference between famine and dieting. As far as it’s concerned, when food is scarce – it’s a life threatening situation… Your primal urge to eat and search for food is activated – we read these as binge urges.

Understanding this concept helped me see why it was essential to nourish my body in recovery. Diets would lead me back to binge eating time and time again.

Quite quickly, I began to see the benefits of nourishing my body. My binge urges subsided, my energy increased, my skin cleared up and over the years, my thin and brittle hair has become thick and shiny.

When we feed our bodies, they thank us. It’s as simple as that.

Nourishing Your Soul in Bulimia Recovery

The journey of bulimia recovery has its ups, downs and its slips. In my early (and unsuccessful) recovery attempts, any slips had been dealt to with a stern hand and a cruel voice. I thought that if I was nasty enough to myself, then perhaps it would motivate me to change. Perhaps I’d be too scared to slip up. It never worked that way. Being cruel to myself only ever got me deeply lost in bulimia.

The only way to inspire change in yourself is through love.

Think back to that school teacher who was unbearably nasty. Did you ever work hard to impress her? I doubt it. Now think back to that kind and loving teacher who spoke gently and softly… I bet you made an extra effort to do well in her class. I know I did.

It’s no different with yourself, right now…

Nourish your soul by treating yourself with love and kindness – and you will be far more likely to work hard for yourself.

Cruelty leads to rebellion.

Kindness leads to peace.

Hi, I’m Shaye…

I first started having issues with bulimia when I was 8 years old. Twelve years later at the age of 20, I recovered. For the first two years of my new bulimia free life, I wanted nothing to do with bulimia. I had no interest in reading about it, watching documentaries on it or ever having it play any part in my life ever again.

But as the years of my recovered life went by I got an itch — an itch to help people discover this beautiful bulimia free life that I am so in love with! Your Bulimia Recovery was born.

Working on this website and with women in recovery has been one of the best experiences of my life. Helping others recover from bulimia gives so much meaning to all the years that I suffered from it.

If you feel alone and isolated from bulimia and want to discover a beautiful and peaceful life. Read over the stories and tips on my website  – you are not alone and you can beat bulimia.