Bulimia

Bulimia, also known as bulimia nervosa, is an eating disorder where the victim eats abnormally large quantities of food and then causes themselves to vomit. Bulimia is also considered a mental illness, because the patient often has a distorted sense of their body size and shape.

It is estimated that approximately 3% of American women are bulimic or have been bulimic at some point. Ninety percent of people with bulimia are women, and about a third of them also have problems with drugs or alcohol. Most people with bulimia are slightly overweight, or of average weight, and some are underweight. These patients think that they are overweight or obese, even when their doctors and scales tell them otherwise.

There are neurological and medical illnesses that cause overeating, but they don’t have the same psychological symptoms as bulimia. The symptoms of bulimia are both physical and psychological. Binge eating is one physical symptom. During binge eating, the patient eats a huge quantity of food in a short period of time. She often feels out of control, as though she can not stop eating. This binging is then followed by vomiting, called purging, in most cases.

It may indicate bulimia if someone normally excuses themselves to the bathroom soon after eating. Bulimics tend to be very secretive about their purging, so it can be hard for friends and loved ones to find out what they are doing. Other signs that a person is purging may include broken blood vessels in the cheeks, a sore throat, numerous dental cavities, and bloodshot eyes. Some people with bulimia don’t vomit, and are considered non-purging bulimics. They often abuse laxatives or are obsessed with exercising to the point of exhaustion to rid themselves of the large amounts of food that they eat.

Bulimics are usually obsessed with their body size and shape. Whether they are underweight or a normal weight, they think that they are overweight. They often see binging as a sign that they are out of control, and see purging as a sign that they have regained control of their body and weight.

Bulimia can cause severe problems with the digestive system, such as ulcers, gastric reflux, and esophageal rupture. Those using laxatives can become dependent on them in order to have a bowel movement. In severe cases, individuals can suffer colon damage. Other severe complications of bulimia include electrolyte imbalance, heart problems, and malnutrition.

Treatment generally consists of both physical and psychological components. Someone suffering from the severe physical complications of bulimia may need to be hospitalized in order to stabilize their body systems and to offer nutritional support. Others can be treated as an outpatient. Psychological counseling is imperative for bulimics, and can take place in individual or group therapy settings. Sometimes anti-depressants are prescribed as well.

Many people with bulimia are successfully treated and do not relapse. Some people will continue to suffer from bulimic episodes throughout their lifetimes. Patients who receive a combination of group and individual counseling, and who understand that their body image perception is skewed, have a better chance of being cured from this disorder.

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