DBT for BED and BN

profesorakate

Hi there,

I'm new to the group and relatively new to MFP. I have been seeing a therapist for Binge Eating, and she recommended Dialectical Behavioural therapy for binge eating and bulimia. It has been a huge help to me already. I've still got a long way to go, but at least I feel like I'm making some headway after over three years of different therapists and trying to tackle this problem once and for all. I've read loads of literature about BED and BN over the years, and this has helped most by far as it really gives you productive, and effective strategies for the long term as well as the short term. It requires LOTS of work though and it's really really difficult to come to terms with all the emotions behind why you've resorted to binge eating for however long (in my case, about 10 years of EDNOS, 5 years of BED). Now that I've finally committed to losing weight at the same time as resolving the BED, it's providing me with a wide range of tools.

dc_amaryllis

Congrats on your progress. I'm glad you found something that works for you.

dietkat

Hi! My therapist has been working with me on DBT to help deal with my bingeing, but I find it so hard sometimes to know what emotion I'm feeling/what's triggering the episode. Have you had any tricks that have helped you figure out what you're feeling/what's set the binge off?

profesorakate

I find it really difficult still, after reading one DBT book. I think doing the exercises (especially the behavioral chains) and then comparing the different chains has been really useful for me. Until I had three chains to compare, I never realised that I got anything positive out of my binge episodes as the negative (long term) consequences are so much more powerful. Putting something down is better than nothing. And yes, I still can't define the prompting events. Supposedly they're meant to happen right before the binge, but I'm pretty good at staving off a binge for a long period of time before I cave. Or sometimes there seem to be so many different possible prompting events, defining one or two is impossible. At the moment I'm trying to do a little bit every day from the book, and at some point I'll feel like the penny's dropped.

dietkat

That makes a lot of sense. What book are you getting the exercises from?

My therapist has me also going through the habit change processes started by Prochaska, Norcross, and Diclemente. (The book is called "Changing for Good.") I'm not very far in it yet, but it's kind of like you go through different forms of emotional preparation before you try to actively change the bad habit. Seems kind of interesting.

profesorakate

I'm reading this one at the moment: http://www.amazon.com/Dialectical-Behavior-Therapy-Workbook-Bulimia/dp/1572246197/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363744068&sr=8-1&keywords=dbt+for+bulimia

Already read this: http://www.amazon.com/Dialectical-Behavior-Therapy-Eating-Bulimia/dp/1606232657/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1363744068&sr=8-2&keywords=dbt+for+bulimia
But it's for therapists not patients.

I haven't heard about the Changing for Good book. I've heard that CBT is good for depression, which I suffer from on and off, so was thinking of going down that route too. One thing at a time though!