Bulimia

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Eating Disorders

Bulimia is one of the most well known eating disorders. Many people will know someone who suffers from a bulimia issue; many others will know someone who has bulimia, but has no clue that they are actually suffering from the disorder. Bulimia is something that many people can hide with ease. While the signs of bulimia eventually show up, anyone who is misinformed on bulimia may not realise that there is a problem.

What is Bulimia?

Bulimia is an eating disorder that starts in the mind, but shows itself in the body. Bulimia, at it’s base, is an eating disorder where someone will eat food, but will purge the food soon after so that their body does not use or absorb any of the food. While some people with bulimia will fast or use laxatives, purging is the most common form for bulimia. People with bulimia have a serious eating disorder that can do serious damage to their body.

What are the Effects of Bulimia?

Bulimia has multiple effects, both on the body and on the mind. Those who have bulimia issues will find that they have erosion of tooth enamel, due to the consistent purging and the acid that comes up due to that purging. Those who have bulimia will also find that they have acid reflux because of their constant purging, and will have issues with their esophagus because of the acid. They will also begin to lose weight and have malnutrition problems, as their body is not getting everything that they need. Those who suffer from the restricting form of bulimia are especially susceptible to this, as they will not get the food an nutrition that they need.

Bulimia does affect the mind, however, and can have lasting issues that stick with the person even after they get over their disorder. Those who have bulimia will have serious body image issues; these body image issues are often what control their purging. They are worried about the food that they have eaten and how it will affect their look. Other times, however, the purging simply comes because the person may binge on food; this means that the constant purging has become a normal way of life.

How does Bulimia Compare to Other Eating Disorders?

Bulimia has some similarities to other eating disorders, but also has many differences. Bulimia is similar to anorexia in the fact that a lack of food is affecting the body, but is different in the sense that there is purging (instead of starving). Binge eating seems like a mutation of bulimia, as there is eating (and purging), but binge eating is random, and not constant. Bulimia and overeating seem like complete opposites, as overeating is eating and keeping the food in the system, while bulimia is about purging the food.

Bulimia Symptoms

The Symptoms of Bulimia

There are multiple signs and symptoms for bulimia. Some people may have all of these signs of bulimia, while others may only have a small amount of bulimia symptoms. Most people with bulimia will find that they do not have control over their eating habits. They will wind up eating until they are in large amounts of pain and discomfort. Once they eat all of the food, they will find a bathroom so that they may purge the food that they have just binged on. Others may do the purging without the massive binging. Many of the people with bulimia may be very secretive about their eating habits, and will wait to binge until they have found that they are alone and have secrecy.

There are also some physical signs of bulimia that can help people to understand when someone they know has an issue with the eating disorder. Those who have bulimia will have discolored teeth because of the constant purging that occurs. They will also have blisters and scars on their teeth (from forcing themselves to purge), which is one of the well known bulimia signs.

The Psychological Effect of Bulimia

Psychological effects from bulimia can be incredibly serious, and can be long lasting. Bulimia starts in the mind. For some, it starts because they want to lose weight. For others, it is because they want to have more control in their life and can manage to gain that through the forced purging. These issues will carry on even after the bulimia is fixed, as the basic ideas stay the same; each person needs to find out how they can gain control, and gain happiness with their body image, before they can completely conquer bulimia.

Bulimic

Treatment Approaches to Bulimia

There are two major approaches for attempting to treat bulimia. While these approaches will differ, there are some similarities that should be noted. First, both approaches to bulimia and bulimia nervosa treatment will aim to take care of the binging and purging that happens often in the bulimia cycle. Some people may think that it is incredibly easy to get over the purging cycle. In reality, however, this cycle is hard to get over, as it becomes part of the daily life of someone with bulimia. The second major approach to treatment for bulimia is the mindset. The mindset of those who have bulimia will be different depending on the person, but will be difficult to break none the less. Those with bulimia will have poor self esteem and body image, and will also have psychological problems with their eating habits.

The two major schools of thought for treatment types are private and group. Those who go through the private treatment will have the program tailored to their specific needs, but will do so on their own. The staff will cater to them on a one on one basis, so that they do not have to work with anyone else other than their specialists. This is great for those who are incredibly shy, or those who do not want to be put into a group setting. The group setting type therapy is somewhat different, in the sense that the treatment has many parts that are done within a group. The hope is that people, while having specifically tailored treatment programs, will find strength in treatment with others who are going through the exact same problems.