How To Stop Purging In Eating Disorder Recovery

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Last updated on September 24th, 2024 at 12:36 am

Purging is the process of intentionally getting rid of food from the body during an eating disorder.  If you have an eating disorder with symptoms of purging, it might feel impossible to know how to stop purging. 

Tips to stop purging include: 

• Identifying triggers for purging
• Eating regularly throughout the day 
• Changing the eating environment
• Changing temperature/lighting
• Taking steps to reduce nausea 

While there are many types of purging, this article addresses strategies to reduce or eliminate purging by vomiting.

We will explore the triggers that might lead to purging, tips to prevent or delay a purge, and what to do if a purge occurs.

What is Purging

Purging is the process of intentionally getting rid of the food you have eaten from your body in order to reduce total calorie absorption. 

Purging is a sign of an eating disorder.

Types of purging include: 

• Vomiting
• Laxative or Diet Pill Abuse
• Compulsive exercise

It is an eating disorder myth that people who engage in purging could just stop if they wanted to. Purging cessation happens in small steps over a prolonged period of time. 

What Triggers The Urge To Purge

It’s super important that you identify your triggers for purging if you hope to reduce this behavior.  Try mentally backtracking through the day and keeping track of the events that lead up to purging. 

Here are some common triggers that may lead to the urge to purge: 

Stress and Anxiety

Stress and anxiety are commonly associated with the urge to purge. 

Stressors such as: 

• Work changes
• Pressures from family or friends
• Relationship changes
• Money challenges
• Pressure from school 

Purging often offers a huge surge of dopamine.  Thus, seeking a release from stress and anxiety could fuel the urge to purge. 

Easy To Purge Foods

Certain foods may automatically trigger an urge to purge.  This might be a result of choosing these foods intentionally in the past because they “came back up” easier.  

Some of these foods might include: 

• Ice Cream
• Soups
• Smoothies
• Cake
• Refried beans
• Nut butters

While no foods should be avoided in eating disorder recovery, Sometimes it is helpful when you are first beginning to sit with your urge to purge to reduce intake of these food types. 

Weight Changes

Weight changes often instantly trigger the urge to purge.  This is because purging behavior often stems from feeling fat or hating your body.  You might feel like you don’t deserve to eat because your weight has changed.

Getting rid of the scale and working with an eating disorder dietitian can help to reduce anxiety from this trigger for purging. 

Abdominal Pain/Nausea

The unfortunate reality of eating disorder recovery and weight restoration is that there will almost always be some discomfort involved.  

This discomfort is often related to learning to sit with a full stomach in addition to delayed digestion. 

The Binge Purge Cycle

The most common contributor to the urge to purge is binging.  

The steps for the binge purge cycle include: 

1. Food restriction
2. Feeling out of control with food
3. Eating until uncomfortably full
4. Extreme guilt/anxiety from the amount of food eaten
5. Purging

Many people who purge are terrified to sit with the discomfort of a full belly.  An overly full belly from a binge can feel even more distressing.  

The only way to break a binge purge cycle is to stop binging. The only way to stop binging is to stop food restriction.

How To Stop Purging

Identifying and avoiding triggers is great, but not always possible.  when you feel the urge to purge coming on, here are a few things that you can do. 

Put on Hand Sanitizer 

Using hand sanitizer regularly throughout the day can really help to reduce or eliminate purging.  Hand sanitizer works to reduce purging because: 

• Applying it brings awareness to the behavior of purging
• It tastes gross. And the immediate negative reinforcer will reduce purging
• It’s an act of self care you can do very intentionally

Delay Purging

Even if you feel like you can’t completely stop purging, can you delay it? 

In order to delay purging try: 

• Observing when you would normally purge
• Pushing off the purge for 5 minutes
• Pushing off the purge for 10 minutes
• Having an alternative activity to do during the delay

Practice Good Meal Timing

Good meal timing can help to reduce the risk of binging or feeling overly full.  Normalizing meals and snacks is one of the best ways to stop purging.  

Appropriate meal timing includes:

• Eating at least every 3-5 hours
• Not missing meals
• Eat enough at each meal 

Your dietitian can help you with a recovery meal plan if you are having a hard time deciding what to eat. 

Eliminate Food Restriction

Having off limits foods will increase the likelihood that you will binge on those foods when they are available. This will often result in purging these foods later on. 

In order to reduce the urge to purge, try challenging fear foods and practicing food neutrality as much as you can. 

Use A Replacement Behavior

Having a list of alternative things you can do instead of purge is important.  Try to choose activities that will reduce stress and anxiety while still giving your brain a hit of dopamine.  Activities that involve working with your hands are often helpful. 

Examples of what you can do instead of purge include: 

• Playing the guitar or other instrument
• Knitting
• Gardening
• Cleaning
• Brushing your teeth
• Dancing

It’s important to remember that the reward you get from activities you replace purging with likely won’t make you feel as good as purging right away. That doesn’t mean that these activities aren’t working!  

The more you practice alternative activities to purging, the greater reward response.It will probably take a few weeks before your replacement behaviors make you feel as good as purging would.

Change Your Environment

Changing your environment can disrupt the mental association you have created between eating and purging. 

• Change the temperature in the room
• Eat in a new location
• Vary up the times you eat 
• Eat with a friend or family member

Practice Urge Surfing

Urge surfing is the process of treating urges to purge like they are a wave with an identifiable beginning, middle and end. 

The steps for urge surfing through a purge include: 

1. Identifying the urge to purge
2. Noticing the emotional sensations that come up 
3. Noticing the body’s responses to your urge 
4. Creating a detachment from the urge as it escalates
5. Anticipate the urge has an end and will pass 

Focus on One Behavior at A Time

If you have an eating disorder, chances are that you are trying to get rid of many harmful behaviors at once.  

Focusing on one behavior at a time will help you be successful when you decide it is time to stop purging. For example, it might be helpful to focus on normalizing meals and snacks to reduce binging before you decide to stop purging.  

Stimulate the Vagus Nerve

Stimulating the vagus nerve is a very immediate way to reduce stress and anxiety as well as release dopamine in the brain. 

Activities that stimulate the vagus nerve include: 

• Cold showers or air
• Shaking your body
• Splashing your face with cold water
• Gargling cold water in the back of your throat
• Humming
• Singing

Go To the Bathroom Before A Meal Not After

The greatest urge to purge is typically the 30 minutes following a meal.  Try to refrain from going into the bathroom after a meal.

You can also ask family members who are supporting you in your recovery to sit with you for 30 minutes following a meal in order to help you not purge. 

Use Mint Ginger Drops

Mint ginger drops are a great tool to help with the nausea you might feel before or after eating or when you might commonly purge.  

Sometimes the nausea can be so overwhelming that you may even involuntarily purge. Using ginger drops or mint ginger drops can help. 

Medications To Help You Stop Purging

Working with a skilled GI doctor that is familiar with eating disorders can be helpful during recovery.  A medical doctor might be able to prescribe anti-nausea medications that will support you in your recovery journey. 

You may also benefit from over the counter medications such as tums or acid reflux medications, but check with your doctor before taking these to make sure they are appropriate. 

Tips For After Purging

Eating disorder recovery is a long and winding road.  It is likely that your journey to stop purging completely will have some ups and downs.  

If you purge, its critical you remember to give yourself grace. 

Here are some things you can to respect your body if you purge:  

• Rinse your mouth with baking soda (neutralizes acid)
• Rinse with water if no baking soda is available
• Rehydrate with water and electrolytes
• Journal, meditate, or practice breathing exercises

Changing into comfy clothes, taking a bath, or soothing your body in other ways is a great way to love yourself if you feel guilty after purging. Remember, purging is not an eating disorder relapse it’s just relearning.