An analysis of the diaries of patients with bulimia nervosa

Organised cognitive structures leading to the development and maintenance of eating disorders appear to be represented in the core psychopathology of bulimia nervosa. This study investigated the self-statements of bulimic patients by analysing self-report diaries from patients who had completed a course of cognitive behavioural therapy. Patients were assigned to one of two groups according to the outcome of therapy: successful (n=21) or unsuccessful (n=7). The results showed that there were statistically significant decreases in the use of specific self-denigrating words indicating thoughts relating to both eating disorder and affective disorder for the successful group but not for the unsuccessful group.