How to Support Someone With Bulimia

Video Transcript

"My name is Christine Marquette, and I'm a registered dietitian with the Austin Regional Clinic, and I'm going to talk to you about some tips for how to support someone with bulimia. Someone with bulimia often has a lot of the same characteristics as a person with anorexia. A lot of times they are using food as an area of of their life that they have control over. Bulimics, what they're actually doing is typically binging on foods and then purging in some form to avoid weight gain, and purging can be either through the use of laxatives, or it can be through induced vomiting. And typically, people with bulimia will go through a period of denial. They won't think that there is anything wrong with them. If they ever do reach the point where they do realize that they have a problem the best way to support this person is typically to help them get into an in-patient treatment facility. It's very difficult to treat bulimia in an out-patient setting. There's just too many things, too many different distractions around. Again, a lot of times they're going to go back to that food as their area of control, so the best thing to do is to get into an in-patient rehabilitation facility where you can be there as emotional support, but they also have access to a therapist, access to a doctor, access to a nutrition professional, a whole team around them that will help them address all of the issues that are causing them to have this problem, this obsession with food. Typically, you as a friend or as a relative; it's good to let them know that you're there for any emotional support, but it's not a good idea to take it upon yourself to try and provide the entire treatment this person needs. They really need to be again, in an inpatient facility where they have a team of professionals around them that includes an actual therapist, a medical doctor, and a nutrition professional, and you would be there as their own emotional support. So, those are just some basic tips for how to support someone with bulimia."