None of the information in this article should be taken as medical advice or as a diagnosis. Please, seek professional help if you believe you are suffering from an eating disorder. You’re not alone on this journey and we promise, there’s an ending to this.

As we now know, there’s not a particular profile that we can associate with eating disorders (ED). Therefore, there’s not a particular treatment that can help every girl in every situation.

Obviously, there’s nobody that will help you as much as a professional: a doctor, a psychologist, a therapist… It is and it should be one of these people that finds the perfect way to help you out of this.

But, we all know everybody’s circumstances are different, and you might not have a way to seek professional help, or at least not right away. And for that, we have tried to come up with some ideas to try and help you.

First of all, in order to overcome this battle, you must accept you’re fighting it. You must become aware of how dangerous it is what you’re doing to your body, and you have to try to actually label what’s happening. Am I just dieting or am I restricting my meals so severely that I might suffer from anorexia? Am I just throwing up because I ate too much and I don’t feel okay or am I actually a bulimic? Accepting you have a problem is and will always be the hardest part, but it’s the first and most important step towards recovery.

Keep in mind always that you’re completely and absolutely worthy, no matter what you’re going through. Make sure you promise yourself you will do your best to recover, because you want yourself healthy, fully healthy, both mentally and physically.

Once you have been able to accept that you must be suffering from an ED, it’s time you tell somebody you trust. It may be your mother, your best friend, your partner, a teacher… Whoever makes you feel comfortable and you’re sure they’re going to support you. To make it easier, you can try writing a letter with all you want to say about what’s happening to you, so that it will make you a little less anxious telling all this to that person.

Make sure you let them know that you’re going to be doing all you can to get out of this, but you will need their support. Do not let them shame you, make you feel guilty or get mad at you. Tell them their anger it’s not gonna help you get better. Only their love and full support.

After this, it’s time you look for help. Together with your friend, mother or partner try to search for clinics that will help you, support groups in the area… It’s gonna get better. You’re already on your way.

Specifically speaking about bulimia, there are some tips that can be helpful:

  1. Procrastinate your urge to binge-eat. When you feel the need to eat, set a timer, for just a minute. During that minute, ask yourself if you’re actually hungry or if you’re trying to cover some other problem using food as some sort of get-away. If this is the case, try discussing with somebody the problem that’s making you anxious. If you can’t speak with anybody at the moment, try writing about it and realizing this feeling isn’t going to get fixed by binge eating, but will rather leave you feeling even worse, leading you to self-guilt and, later on, to vomiting your food.
  2. If after that whole minute of breathing and just thinking about this, you still feel the need to eat, try to be gentle with yourself and not lead onto guilty feelings.
  3. Start adding minutes to the timer each time you successfully procrastinate your binge-eating reflect.
  4. Try meditation. It usually helps people feel more connected to their body and mind and helps overall with your health.
  5. Make meal plans and grocery shopping plans. Make an effort to eat six healthy and nutritious meals a day and don’t keep at your house lots of junk food.

Please, stay strong. You deserve a life away from all of this. And if you’re feeling like no help is enough or as if nobody can understand you and help you, do not hesitate to contact me at c.manriquevelayos@gmail.com.