Bulimia - Help Needed

I have a friend battling with Bulimia. She's in desperate need of help. It's getting worse, as it's been going on for a few years already, and I'm afraid if she doesn't get help soon, it will become more and more dangerous to her health and mental state. Does anyone know of a good place to go to? It seems so hard to find places for eating disorder treatments in HK and places that wouldn't charge a phenomenal fee. It's so strange that such a common thing as eating disorders have such little resources for people to turn to in HK, as opposed to other parts of the world. I don't want to see her suffer like this, would someone please give me some advice before it's too late?

There is an Eating Disorders Clinic at CUHK. It's website is only in Chinese but perhaps give the Centre a call for other information.

2144 5838

Are there any other places?

Although eating disorders are not as common as in the West, they are on the rise. But there is a tendency here to keep psychiatric problems within the family and places are limited.


There is the Hong Kong Eating Disorders Association.

http://www.heda-hk.org/


And KELY has groups/workshops for teens/young people.

http://www.kely.org/home.htm


Alternatively, can your friend get assistance in her home country?

How are things by now?

I have three girlfriends who are suffering from eating disorders of some sort. I was told that eating disorders are one of the most challenging illnesses to treat.


How much does your friend confide in you? What are the roots for her behavior? Yes, it is so self-inflicting which eats her away and chasing her friends away. Be a friend to her and give her the support and try to get her to see a professional psychotherapist...usually it has something to do with a very low self-image and being perfectionistic. They feel so out of control that the only thing they could control is their food intake but they have developed this love-hate relationship.


My friend actually went to see Prof Lee Shing at CU. He is the person to see for diagnosis. Of course, at the bottom of this whole thing: your friend needs to come to grips to want to receive help. Otherwise, she will just go back and feel stuck in her open cage. As for you, it's a tough battle that you are in....whether you want to hold her hand as she goes through hell. Just demonstrate to her that you accept her always even though you may not always be pleased with her behavior....easy said than done. Hang in there. She is lucky to have you as a friend.

"Wasted ~ A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia" by Marya Hornbacher published by HarperFlamingo....this is a book recommended by another friend to read...Hornbacher was her professor at Tufts.