When a bulimic is bingeing, there is no thought involved, no reflection as to why they may be doing this to themselves. The need to gorge has completely taken over. For people who suffer from eating disorders, food has been their one true source of comfort and medication over the years. Asking a bulimic to give up what she most likely feels is the only thing that she has control over causes panic and fear and is often met with anger and protectiveness over her disease. This is not necessarily the case in on-line support groups.
People are on-line because they truly want to be there.
Their presence is an admission to themselves and other that they are sick and that they need the support of others to help them beat their illness. Knowing that they can come into an environment where they will not be judged by other tends to allow them to open and communicate their feelings honestly. Bulimics report having grown up in a family where they frequently experienced themselves as the mothering adult. In most cases either one or both of the parents grew up in a highly dysfunctional home and as a result, were unable to give the unconditional love and support that a child needs when growing up. This is a common stage that many sufferers find themselves stuck on at some level.