Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by frequent episodes of binge eating, followed by frenzied, painful attempts to avoid gaining weight.
When you are suffering with bulimia, life is a constant conflict between the desires to lose weight or stay thin and the overwhelming urge to binge eat. You do not want to binge eat you know the guilty and shame but time and again you gorge on food.
After the gluttony is over, you panic set and to undo the binge, you resort to drastic measures such as taking ex-lax, inducing vomiting, or trying to over exercise in an effort to burn the calories off.
Bulimia does not necessarily involve purging physically eliminating the food from your body by throwing up or using laxatives, enemas, or diuretics. You can undo your binges by fasting, exercising to excess, or going on crash diets. You are possibly suffering from bulimia or another eating disorder if the following applies to you: Are you obsessed with your body and your weight; does food and dieting dominate your life; are you afraid that when you start eating, you wilt be able to stop; do you ever eat until you feel sick; do you feel guilty, ashamed, or depressed after you eat; do you vomit or take laxatives to control your weight?
Bulimia is destructive cycle of binging and purging. Dieting is a trigger. But the more strict and rigid your diet, the more likely it is that you will become even more obsessed, with food. When you starve yourself, your body responds with unrelentless cravings its way.
As the tension, hunger, and deprivation increase, the compulsion to eat becomes uncontrollable a forbidden food is eaten; a dietary rule is broken. After having a small dish of ice cream, you feel failure and the binge begins again. The relief from binging is brief. Soon after, guilt and self-loathing set in. And so you purge to make up for binging and regain control.
Purging is not effective for getting rid of calories, which is why most people suffering with bulimia end up gaining weight over time. Vomiting immediately after eating will remove all of the calories consumed. This is because calorie absorption begins the moment you put food in the mouth. Laxatives and diuretics are even less effective. You may weigh less after taking them, it is due to water loss, not true weight loss.
Signs of binge eating are: Inability to stop eating; eating until the point of physical discomfort and pain; wanting to eat in privacy; eating unusually large amounts of food with no obvious change in weight; alternating between overeating and fasting.
Being bulimic is putting your body and life at risk. The most dangerous side effect of bulimia is dehydration due to purging. Vomiting, laxatives, and diuretics can cause electrolyte imbalances in the body. Low potassium levels trigger a wide range of symptoms ranging from lethargy and cloudy thinking to irregular heartbeat and death. Chronically low levels of potassium can also result in kidney failure.
There is no single cause of bulimia. While low self-esteem and concerns about weight and body image play major roles, there are many other factors that can be a cause. People suffering with bulimia and other eating disorders in have trouble managing emotions in a healthy way. Eating can be an emotional release people binge and purge when feeling angry, depressed, stressed, or anxious.
One thing is certain. Bulimia is a complex emotional issue. Our cultural emphasis on thinness and beauty can lead to body dissatisfaction, particularly in young women bombarded with media display of an unrealistic physical ideal. People who think of themselves as useless, worthless, and unattractive are at risk for bulimia. Things that can contribute to low self-esteem include depression, perfectionism, childhood abuse, and a critical home environment. Women with bulimia appear to have a higher incidence of sexual abuse. People with bulimia are also more likely than average to have parents with a substance abuse problem or psychological disorder. Bulimia is often triggered by stressful changes or transitions, such as t puberty, going away to college, or the breakup of a relationship.
If you are living with bulimia, you know how frightful it feels to be so out of control. Realizing that you are harming your body just adds to the concern. But recovery is possible. You can learn to break the binge and purge cycle and develop a healthier attitude toward food and your body.
Taking steps toward recovery is tough. If you are the thought is there for getting help for bulimia, you are on your way to healing. The first step in bulimia recovery is admitting that your relationship to food is distorted and out of control. The advice and support of trained eating disorder professionals can help you regain your health, learn to eat normally again, and develop healthier attitudes about food and your body.
Treatment for bulimia is much will succeed when you stop dieting. By eating normally, you can break the binge-and-purge cycle and still reach a healthy, attractive weight. To stop the cycle of bingeing and purging, it iss important to seek professional help early, follow through with treatment, and resolve the underlying emotional issues that caused the bulimia in the first place.
Because poor body image and low self-esteem are the crux of bulimia, therapy is an important part of recovery. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most common therapy for treatment of bulimia. Cognitive-behavioral therapy targets the unhealthy eating behaviors of bulimia and the unrealistic, negative thoughts that fuel them. Here is what to expect in bulimia therapy: Breaking the binge-and-purge cycle; changing unhealthy thoughts and patterns; solving emotional issues. Targeting emotional issues that caused the eating disorder in the first place such as; relationship issues, underlying anxiety and depression, low self-esteem, and feelings of isolation. With treatment, support from others, and smart self-help strategies, you can overcome bulimia and gain true self-confidence.
