Bulimia is a very common eating disorder typically characterized by a person eating large quantities of food then purging usually by vomiting, but also by the use of laxatives diuretics and excessive exercising. The use of cognitive treatment in the treatment of Bulimia is very common and actually very effective. There are several views that I have reviewed in my quest for information on cognitive treatments for Bulimia.
             People diagnosed with an eating disorder are said to have developed a schematic obsession with body size and eating. The person in question is obsessed with body shape and fatness. They eat a forbidden food and feel bad about doing so. They feel the only way to correct this is to purge the food from their body to rid themselves of the negative feelings. This happens until the person is always feeling this way when they eat and always purging. This occurs as part of the Schema and gives no concern to the physical harm being caused to the person. Everything the person sees and does is a direct link to fatness and their body looking bad until it becomes an all out obsession.
             Since Bulimia is a learned behavior, using cognition is a great way to correct the behavior. Healthy eating is promoted. "Using stimulus control procedures, antecedents of the original abnormal eating patterns are limited." Williamson, Donald A Muller, Stephanie L Reas,
             Deborah L Thaw, Jean M " Cognitive bias in eating disorders " Behavior Modification 23, no.
             4 (Oct 1999). Some things that are used are making the person eat only while sitting at a table no standing while eating Exposure Response Prevention (TERP). ERP is based on the theory that purging produces a reduction of eating-related anxiety; therefore, patients are allowed to eat, but compensatory behaviors are prevented. Anti-depressant medication is recommended along with cognitive treatment or else the outcome may not be
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