Eating Disorders – We Know What Triggers the Binge-Purge Cycle – Now What?

Eating Disorders – We Know What Triggers the Binge-Purge Cycle – Now What?

So together, you and your daughter have identified one of the triggers for her eating/purging cycle. Let's say on this particular day it started when she was at the mall with a friend. She saw her reflection in a shop window and didn't like what she saw.

Now we look for the chain of events, thoughts, emotions and behaviors that followed it. Imagine this process is like a literal chain with multiple links. At one end is the first link, the trigger that starts the circulation. At the other end is binge or purge behavior. Any connection in between are the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that lead to a binge or purge.

What might be some links in the chain in this situation? When she saw her reflection in the mirror, her first thought was, “I look fat.” This thought can be followed by feelings of shame or worthlessness. A behavior that follows this emotion might be refusing to eat something for dinner. Another link in the chain will be her hunger later in the evening, which sets the stage for a frenzy. The last link could then be deleted because now she has to get rid of what she ate.

Please note that I only cover the highlights here. There can literally be 50 links or more in this chain from start to finish. If the trigger occurred early in the day, consider how many thoughts, emotions, and behaviors have occurred since then.

I want you to realize that you and your daughter can intervene at any point in the chain and stop the chain of events. Over time you will be able to intervene more quickly. The goal is to stop the cycle at its earliest point, right at the trigger point. The other goal is for her to have the skills to identify it herself and take action.

You may not interrupt the cycle at all at first. When you and your daughter sit down to explore the chain of events, you can only see the progress in retrospect. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say. The next step is to catch it during the binge or purge behavior itself, although she can pursue it to the end.

Next, you can identify the cycle just before the eating disorder behavior occurs and gradually work your way back to where you can break the cycle sooner and sooner. Identifying triggers and interventions is a process and you must be patient.

It's hard to recognize at first because your daughter's behavior is such a habit that she has to force herself to slow down and think about it. This is one of the ways you can help her. If you see that she is restless, hanging around the kitchen, kind of distressed, you can ask her if she is in her cycle.

You can then work together to interrupt it right where she is and work backwards to identify the trigger. You need to give her a choice as to whether she wants to break the cycle where she is in the chain. Remind her that the goal is to break the chain as quickly as possible and ask her if she is ready to do it now.

If she says no, see if she talks about why she doesn't want to stop the cycle, and sometimes talking it through will help her nip it in the bud. If she says yes, ask her what she can do to distract herself.

Also ask her whether she needs help or not. If she is resistant to change, hopefully over time she will be more willing to intervene at the earliest point in the cycle. Your job is not to make the decisions for them, but rather to educate them, show them ways to break the cycle and coach them through it.

Inspired by Lynn A Moore