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How it going for you? I been clean for three days (no self induced vomiting) it's hard for me I've had bulimia for over 20 years 😢

Thanks for sharing, Sophie. I hear you about how scary it can be to have no relapses for so long and then experience two episodes in one week. I want you to approach this with love and compassion for yourself. Try to see this as an opportunity to understand what's going on, rather than something to be ashamed of. Start by noting down any life changes or stressors that might have contributed to these episodes this week. Then, take some time to reflect on how you felt before, during, and after each episode. This isn’t about judgment; it’s about gaining insight into what might have triggered these moments so we can find the right strategies and support moving forward. Remember, recovery is not a straight path, and setbacks do not erase all the progress you've made. The fact that you're here watching this video shows your strength and commitment to staying on track. Let’s take this as a learning opportunity and continue building on the resilience you've shown over the past year.

hi Laurel! Thank you so much for the comment 😍 I have so many thoughts on this! I will plan to make a video about this to be able to give my complete thoughts on this important topic. Thank you for the suggestion!!

I'm really sorry to hear you're going through this. Digestive issues can be so frustrating when trying to stop purging, and it's important to address both the physical and emotional aspects of this struggle. Here are some tips and insights that might help: 1. Managing Digestive Discomfort: Start with small, frequent meals to give your digestive system a chance to adjust. Avoid large meals that can cause discomfort and bloating. 2. Gentle Foods: Choose easily digestible foods when possible like bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast (BRAT foods). Avoid spicy, or high-fiber foods initially. 3. Hydration: Drink plenty of water, but avoid large amounts with meals to prevent further bloating. 4. Slow Eating: Eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly to aid digestion and reduce discomfort. 5. Managing Electrolytes: Use electrolyte drinks to replenish lost electrolytes. Look for drinks that contain potassium, sodium, and magnesium. I would go to the sports store and buy the mini electrolyte pucks that athletes would put in their water bottles and sip on them throughout the day for the first few months of recovery. 6. Avoid Excessive Caffeine and Alcohol: Don't spend your mornings drinking nothing but coffee and skipping meals! Note as well that both can dehydrate you and disrupt electrolyte balance. 7. Regular Check-Ups: If possible, get blood tests to monitor your electrolyte levels and overall health. 8. Mindset: Create a mantra to repeat to yourself in those moments of discomfort where you want to purge. Example: "I am here, I am safe. My body deserves kindness and care. These urges to purge will pass, whether or not I choose to engage in them. Every moment I resist, I am reclaiming my health and my life. I choose to nourish my body and heal. This discomfort is temporary, but my commitment to recovery is lasting. I am worthy of peace and well-being." Additional Tips: Be Patient with Yourself: Recovery is a process, and it's okay to have setbacks. Celebrate small victories and keep pushing forward. Set Realistic Goals: Aim for small, achievable goals rather than perfection. This can help reduce feelings of being overwhelmed. Remember, you are not alone in this, and reaching out for help is a sign of strength. I am here for you! Your health and well-being are worth fighting for, and there are resources and people who can support you on this journey. If you want more support, please don't hesitate to book a consultation call calendly.com/victoriaevans/30min , I would love to help you more

Hi Sophie, thank you for sharing! I hear you about the face swelling, it is incredibly difficult, scary and frustrating. I wish I could solve this for you with the snap of my fingers or by giving an easy tool but the reality is, the only way out is through and the more we continue with purging the worse and longer we will have the face swelling for. I know it never feels like a good time to have your face feeling swollen but try to be proactive about it. Not looking in mirrors, sharing with friends or family what is going on if you feel comfortable, reminding yourself why you are recovering and how the swelling is temporary and will go down. Some other things to try: Gentle Facial Massage: A gentle lymphatic drainage massage can help reduce facial swelling. Use your fingertips to gently massage your face in upward and outward motions (lots of youtube videos on this), Elevate Your Head: Sleeping with your head elevated can help reduce overnight swelling in your face, and Cold Compresses: Applying a cold compress to your face can help reduce swelling and provide some relief from the discomfort. You are worthy of recovery and are so much more than how your face is temporarily looking. You deserve recovery, this is that first hard step but it will get easier. I am here for you.

OMG ADRIANNE 🎉🎉🎉 That’s amazing!!! HUGE congratulations 🥳 You should be so freakin proud of yourself ❤❤❤❤

Thank you for the comment Carol. It sounds like acid reflux is why you are restricting but that this has improved the past 2 days. That is great news! I hope that you are continuing to feel better :)

Hi there, thank you so much for the message 😊 I really wish I knew how to help with this kind of situation and could give advice to you but unfortunately I don’t have experience in this area. I apologize for this! I hope you’re able to find someone with an ED and substance use background to help you with this ❤❤❤

OMG CONGRATULATIONS 🎉🎉 You should be so freaking proud of yourself !!! Well done 🥳

You are so very welcome, I’m glad you found this video useful ❤ I’m wishing you all the best in treatment, it can absolutely be a place of comparison but please remember any parts of this video that resonated. Sending you all the love on this next part of your journey 🫶

You're welcome 😊

Thank you 😊

So glad you found it useful 😍

Hi there, thank you so much for the comment and for subscribing! Yes, I have heard of brain spotting and I am so glad that it had such a positive impact on you, that's great :) In my work, I tend to use guided visualization/ hypnosis therapy for some of those deeper-set beliefs, but I am happy to see more peer-reviewed studies being published on the effectiveness of brain spotting. Excited to see how the field progresses over the next few years!

@@victoriaevansofficial awesome!!

Totally! I think it’s one of the hardest things to overcome and yet arguably the most important. Maybe I’ll do a video more specifically on it. What do you think?

Very welcome, thank you for your comment and support 😊❤️🙏🏼

Glad to hear it 😊

Thank you so much Ashley! I’m so glad to hear you found these tips useful 😍❤️😊🙏🏼

Yay! Thank you! I so appreciate you being here and for your support 😍❤️🙏🏼

Thank you Leah, I really appreciate your support 😍❤❤❤

I’m curious, why do you say you won’t ever feel comfortable?

@@victoriaevansofficial well I’m not sure, I’m anorexic and if I eat too much even a normal amount I feel sick and want to purge. I don’t purge anymore I just don’t want to go back to that. I have acid reflux and take meds for it.

@@carolhill564thank you for sharing. I hear what you’re saying. Hard to dig too much into this in a comment but you’re welcome to send me a DM on Instagram @victoriaevansofficial so we can talk more there ❤

@@victoriaevansofficial I don’t have instagram

Very welcome ❤😊

Thank you so much for sharing. I can absolutely understand where you are coming from and will plan to create a video covering this. I will plan for it to come out next week. There are a lot of indicators in your comment that are telling me what the issues likely are for you. Looking forward to helping you with this :)

Thank you for the comment Maria! To make sure I understand, you are finding the only way you will eat food is when it is binging, is that correct? So you aren't eating meals in a calm and relaxed way, every meal/ time you eat turns into a binge? Wanted to confirm before I responded with some tips :)

Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m so glad you found my channel and have been finding my advice useful. I’m truly happy to hear it and that you’re ready to recover. Congratulations on taking this first step ❤ If you ever need anything please let me know 😊

This makes me so happy to hear that you found it useful. I appreciate your comment so much ❤ Thank YOU 😊

Thank you for the comment. I am not aware of the damage being done to the salivary glands through laxatives, however, purging of any kind causes extreme stress to the body and I would not be surprised if you have swelling and inflation in your cheeks consequently.

Glad it was helpful! Thank you so much for commenting. Are there any other topics you’d like me to cover?

Tell me more about that, why don’t you want to stop purging if you’re already not binge eating?😊

Pursuing a healthy lifestyle where weight change can be the byproduct vs eating disorder behaviors are very different things. Help me understand why you wouldn’t want a life free from behaviors that are causing your body and every aspect of your life to suffer?

@@victoriaevansofficial it's a complicated issue, but thank you for replying. I suffer from many illnesses, all of which overlap… My gender dysphoria is the root of both my depression and bulimia, and I desperately try to lose my womanly features, (breasts, period etc) and far purging/fasting has been the only thing that helped. I im also trying to have a more androgynous physique, but I'm too weak to gain muscle via exercise, and hormone therapy (along with other trans specific treatment) are not available in my country, so my only option is getting as thin as possible. I know it's a lot, but thank you for trying to help

@@UwUImShio Thank you for sharing, I am sorry to hear about so much going on for you right now, it sounds like a lot. That is truly unfair that your country does not have trans-specific treatment, I can only imagine how difficult that is to not have that support. Feel free to send me an email, at hello@victoriaevansofficial.com and I will send you my stop bulimia toolkit, at no cost. I wish there was more I could do to help. Here for you ❤

Hey so I'm actually in the same exact position as you, being a trans man has been the hardest part of trying to recover for the exact reasons you mentioned, can't afford and am not in an environment where any healthcare is available to me. Just wanna let u know ur not alone because I know how hard it is to find people with this exact root of the problem being the only thing that's holding them back 🤍🤍

Thank you for sharing, I can totally understand that feeling. It does cause so much damage to our body, internally as well as every aspect of our life. We life a half life with bulimia, a fraction of what we could be. Here for you if you ever need support ❤️

I guess I’m fasting for like 18 hours only coffee. Then I drink energy drinks and iced coffee. I m up all night with insomnia. I don’t feel hungry so I drink. I wait till I m ready for bed when I eat. What do you think?

I don’t feel stressed if I don’t eat. I actually feel better

Thank you so much for your support ☺🙏

Thank you so much for sharing. Huge congratulations on being 4 days binge and purge free, that's amazing and you should be so proud of yourself! The chipmunk cheeks will go down over time. I know that it can be really distressing and cause us to feel that we've gained weight in our face but this is not the case. Unfortunately, the only way out is through, meaning we just need to keep moving forward in our recovery and know that it will go down given we don't relapse and restart the healing of our salivary glands. Know that this is temporary, give yourself loves of self-compassion. The swelling is your body trying to heal so try not to beat yourself up about it. As you continue on your recovery journey, your swollen cheeks will become a very distant memory as your new amazing life unfolds before you ❤ Here for you if you need anything! Keep it up 💪

Thank you so much I'm in tears thank you for the motivation 💖 I've been hiding for so long nobody knows what I've been doing to myself for over 20 years. I'm so ashamed i feel so ugly i try to hide my face with my hair or wigs i often wear hoodies to cover up my cheeks. All the research ive been doing I'm surprised I'm not dead😢

how is it going right now? i feel like i am in a simular situation...

Hi I relapsed for a couple months I am now on the path again I haven't threw up in about 3 days it's so hard but I believe in myself the second time around. But I also know it's mind over matter I have to break my pattern because I became so used to self induced vomiting to the point I felt sick if I was full. I'm currently trying to break my pattern it's mentally very hard. I really see this is a mental disorder and yes I need help 😢

@@PISS_7688 i swear, my cheeks are literally not swollen after 10 days. first week they were swollen as fuck, but thrn it got better. i sm bulimicfree for 2 months now and it gets better every dsy. i once had a small relapse and the cheeks were swollen a bit for 4 days, but returned quickly. i drank a lot and moved my body, also fir digestion. good luck and stay strong♥️

Thank you for sharing. I can completely relate to what you’re saying as I have been through it before. I remember it feeling out of body, continuing to binge and purge without really wanting to do it. A question I have for you, is what is your body feeling like before purging? Is it normally quite anxious, feeling like you need to purge to relax? If yes, this could relate to what I’m applying for my PhD in which is that purging is the attempt to help the body feel safe when dyregulated. Meaning your body is in a survival state and purging is your maladapted attempt to get yourself out of that state. Without knowing your full story, what I would recommend to you is looking into nervous system down regulation techniques to help your body feel more safe. With that said, I would love to chat with you more to better understand what is going on for you and see how I can help ❤

Thank you so so so much for this. I truly appreciate your kind words, it means the world to me. Your support is incredibly kind. Thank you 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you ❤️

I’m so glad you like them 😊 Do you have any suggestions for topics for future videos that I can create? ❤

You’re welcome 😊 I’m glad you found it useful! Can I ask if you have any suggestions for other video topics? ❤️❤️