Bulimia is but one of a growing number of eating disorders recognized in our modern society. Depression, low self-esteem, and extreme perfectionism are common in people with these symptoms. Bulimia can also cause tension with family and friends, interrupting the lives of people with the disorder.
The eating behavior can look normal but after a short while, he or she feels disgusted with their eating and uses different methods of eliminating it. Many people, if not most, with bulimia will not admit that they have an eating disorder, but this understanding is crucial to their recovery. Anorexia is another growing eating disorder among young women where they starve themselves to become thin. Bulimia is also a popular eating disorder that commonly affects women who have an extreme fear of gaining weight.
A period of binge-eating is produces strong feelings of guilt. A person with anorexia has the obvious signs of emaciation but with a bulimia sufferer, it is really necessary to observe the binge eating. As binge eating is usually carried out secretively, this can create a problem in reaching an early diagnosis. A binge is an episode where an individual eats a much larger amount of food than most people would in a similar situation and it is not a response to intense hunger. The overeating is not caused by hunger, but by feelings of depression and stress. They often binge on comfort foods like potato chips, cakes and cookies.
With this disease there is a risk for damages that will become permanent. Bulimia can also be the reason why a person will get problems with the teeth. It is also likely that these persons have intense psychological problems. One reason is that they are often led to believe that diet and figure are of extreme importance.
The physical problems should be treated symptomatically and also include a diet regime that can control weight without the dangers that this obsession of bulimia can bring. The treatment should continue with counselling for quite some time after returning home from hospital. Any bulimia recovery requires the help of a psychiatrist who can recognize why a person is bulimic and how they can break their binge-and-purge cycle. The binge-eating episode is usually triggered by stress or depression and can happen a few times a week.
Bulimia nervosa is another term for this condition and it can give severe medical complications. On one hand, anorexia nervosa is a condition wherein the person suffering from it is constantly afraid of gaining weight. What triggers a person to suffer from bulimia nervosa cannot be pinpointed exactly as it is usually the result of a number of factors. But, the occurrence of bulimia nervosa can be prevented and in case you are already suffering from it, you can be cured.
By Louise Wasa
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Bulimia Is A Severe Eating Disorder
Labels: bulimia, eating disorder
Posted by Matt at 9:01 AM
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1 comments:
I'd be careful using the word "cured." My name is Trisha Gura and I am author of “Lying in Weight: the Hidden Epidemic of Eating Disorders in Adult Women” (Harper Collins, May 2007). Nearly 2/3 of individuals with eating disorders do not fully recover. The illness, or some remnant of it, remains, triggered by stresses and huge life transitions, i.e. marriage, pregnancy, parenting, mid and late life. There is no cure, only healing, which is a process that takes a lifetime.
Trisha Gura
www.trishagura.com
trisha@trishagura.com
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