Bulimics' perceptions of emotional responding during binge-purge episodes

The concept of changes in emotional arousal during the binge-purge cycle plays a principal role in bulimia theory. Female bulimic patients (n = 29) retrospectively rated the intensity of several emotions during their binge-purge cycle. When collapsed into positive versus negative emotion categories, both categories showed significant changes in emotions over the course of the binge-purge episode. Negative emotion increased after a binge and decreased during the purge. Positive emotion decreased after binging and increased during and after purging.