Do you know someone who suffers from bulimia? If so, then you are probably aware of the fact that bulimics often experience bloating. A bloated stomach can make anyone feel self-conscious, but to someone who is receiving bulimia treatment, it is especially traumatic. This causes the purging and binging cycle to continue, each one encouraging the other as the person slowly self-destructs.
There are a lot of self-esteem issues that stem from this type of restraint behavior (such as wishing you were slimmer or needing your stomach to feel empty). Do you actually hate your stomach? Do you obsess about the curve of your abdomen?
During just one sitting, a binger can ingest a remarkable amount of food and drink, but often their conscious minds don’t allow them to consider why their stomachs bloat. For a majority of people, enduring the discomfort of a bloated belly simply means waiting a short period of time for all that food to be digested, and then the bloating is gone. But even that short period of time is too much for a bulimia sufferer to endure; she is too afraid of gaining weight from absorbing calories.
Maybe if you understood the natural physiological reactions that are happening in your body, you would feel the urge to protect your organs rather than destroy them. Therefore, what could be going on inside your stomach really?
For someone who isn’t suffering from bulimia, a distended belly is caused by gases that are trapped in your stomach and/or intestines. Although it can be an uncomfortable feeling, this kind of swelling is harmless and usually very temporary. For women, a bloated belly often signifies water retention, which is a common symptom of menstruation.
Also, bloating is often caused by the infamous cycle of “yo-yo” diets, in which someone experiences weight loss, then weight gain, then weight loss, and so on. These changes in a person’s weight can actually extend the walls of your stomach, so it is now able to stretch out and hold more food.
bulimia sufferers however should ride out the bloated sensation, as this directly correlates to the vast amount of food you consume in any one sitting, in a short space of time. Try to control the desire to binge before you actually get to this point. This may seem unrealistic, but you can maintain your recovery by identifying your triggers. What specifically causes you the desire to binge, and what are some more healthy coping skills you can implement in your moments of weakness?
For most sufferers, this awareness can be brought about by exploring stress and anxiety caused by bloated stomach with an expert who specializes in bulimia treatment. Your counselor can assist you in identifying your personal triggers, and more importantly, can help you learn some healthy coping skills. You will rebuild your self-confidence as you realize your own power. Your success will depend largely on how effectively you can train and sit with this bodily sensation that comes with the negative self hate and guilt…so you can go about healing and preventing a bloated stomach as you gradually recover.
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Tags: bulimia
Tags: bulimia
