While antidepressants successfully block many negative emotions, they are certainly not recommended for long-term treatment. Engaging in activities that promote feelings of well-being is a much more sustainable approach when it comes to dealing with overwhelming emotions.
After completing CBT, you will learn that the key to success in controlling bulimia is in blocking your thought patterns and switching off your mind, if only for a few minutes! Your psychologist might recommend activities that help to achieve a more peaceful state of mind.
Yoga
Yoga is one way that helps you restore a much-needed connection with your own body. This is achieved through breath work and certain strength postures. Classes range from complete beginners right through to advanced.
Yoga encourages self-love and self-worth and certainly boosts your confidence when surpassing challenging postures that require extreme focus, balance and attention. You begin to realize just how powerful your mind is in overcoming obstacles!
Another powerful message learnt from yoga is the ability to let go. This is often experienced when you’re in postures that involve a strong release of tight muscles, and you have no choice but to surrender to the position, resulting in extreme bliss when coming out of the posture!
While yoga is an ancient practice that has been around for thousands of years in India, it’s only relatively recently that science has turned to study its many incredible benefits, particularly from a psychological point of view.
In one study, titled Yoga for Psychiatry and Mental Health: An Ancient Practice with Modern Relevance, psychological benefits of yoga are noted as:
- Reduction in stress
- Regulation of emotion
- Improved mood and well-being
- Improvement in cognitive function
- Enhanced respiratory function
It’s exciting to know that yoga is already being recommended by medical professionals as part of treatment programs for mental disorders, and certainly, holds an important role in forging a healthy lifestyle following the battle with bulimia and other eating disorders.
