The Signs & Symptoms of Bulimia

Today's teenage girls and young women face a growing epidemic, bulimia. Bulimia is a disease that more girls than we realize either have or are considering. The media, music, and modeling worlds all portray the ideal girl or woman as being thin and perfect. On TV, the commercials seem to constantly be about some weight loss program. We are brought up in a society that glorifies thinness, and most teenage girls are preoccupied with their weight. The average size is between 8 and 14, but seldom are girls of average weight cast in a movie or video. When they are, it is a movie making fun of their appearance.

What is Bulimia?

Bulimia is exemplified by repeated occurrences of binge eating, from a couple of times a week to numerous times a day, resulting in anxious laboring to prevent weight gain. In the course of a typical binge, a bulimic devours 3,000 to 5,000 calories in one brief hour. After the binge is over, the individual will take desperate actions to get rid of these calories, such as swallowing laxatives, making herself throw up, or doing some dramatic exercise routine. There are two types of bulimia, characterized by the way the bulimic counteracts the binge eating: purging and nonpurging. In the purging type of bulimia, the person purges the food from the body by throwing up or using laxatives, enemas, or diuretics. The nonpurging type of bulimia includes fasting, exercising to excess, or going on crash diets. Younger women are predominantly in jeopardy. Bulimia characteristically begins at some point in the late teens or early twenties, frequently resulting from an episode of dieting or a traumatic life incident.

Symptoms and Signs

People who have bulimia habitually attempt to conceal their binging and purging. They binge when others are not present. They will binge and then do anything to cover it up. But in spite of the concealment, there are warning signs and symptoms of bulimia that can signal a problem. Although bulimics have a fear of becoming fat, being underweight is not a distinguishing sign of bulimia. In reality, individuals with bulimia are typically of typical weight or even overweight. If an individual binges and purges but is severely underweight, he or she is possibly experiences the purging type of anorexia, rather than bulimia.
There are certain signs and symptoms of binge eating. Symptoms include not being able to manage the quantity of food that is eaten, as well as undisclosed eating or eating in private. Bulimics eat significant amounts of food with no variation in weight. Food vanishes with no acknowledgement that the food has been eaten. Bulimics seldom eat normally; they overeat or fast.
Bulimics also display signs and symptoms of purging. A bulimic repeatedly goes to the bathroom after eating, and may run the water to conceal the sound of vomiting. She often uses laxatives, diuretics, or enemas after eating, and the bathroom or the person may have an odor. Bulimics may exercise excessively or take diet pills. There are also physical signs of bulimia. Calluses or scars may be present on the hands from sticking their fingers down the throat, or their cheeks may be bloated and their teeth stained from vomiting. A bulimic's weight may rise and fall by 10 or more pounds as the result of binging and purging.

Causes

The causes of bulimia are numerous. There is no sole reason for bulimia. Although low self-esteem and distress about weight and body image may be the major causes, there are other social, psychological, and biological aspects. Cultural emphasis on slimness and attractiveness can lead to unhappiness, predominantly in impressible girls inundated with images of an idealized appearance. Bulimics often think themselves useless, worthless, or ugly. Low self-esteem caused by childhood abuse or an over-critical parent can lead to bulimia. Habitual dieters are more likely to develop bulimia than a person who does not diet; dieting too much can trigger bulimia. Bulimia can begin because of adjustments like the bodily transformations caused by puberty, a change in the household, or relationship problems. Becoming bulimic may help some people feel in control.

Treatments

Many bulimics suffer from low self-esteem and poor body image. Treatment for these underlying problems is important. The hate and shame from binging and purging can also be helped. The treatment of preference is cognitive-behavioral rehabilitation. Cognitive-behavioral rehabilitation focuses on the unwholesome eating behaviors caused by bulimia and the impractical, destructive notions that increase them. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for bulimia entails two phases. The first concentrates on ending the malicious succession of binging and purging and rebuilding typical eating. Bulimics discover how to control eating habits and evade circumstances that produce a need to binge. They also learn to deal with anxiety in areas aside from food. They learn to eat on a regular basis to ease food cravings, and they learn to control the desire to purge. The second phase of treatment concentrates on recognizing and altering dysfunctional attitudes about weight, dieting, and body shape. Bulimics learn to confront their feelings about eating, deal with the relationship between their emotions and food, and alter their belief that self-worth is centered on weight.

Long Term Effects

The long-term effects of bulimia are disastrous. Bulimia affects almost every part of the body. It affects that heart and if left untreated can lead to heart failure. The skin is also affected. It affects hormone regulation, causing irregular or absent menstrual periods, and it causes dehydration and anemia. Bulimia also affects the muscles and stomach.
If you suspect that someone you know is bulimic encourage this person to seek medical and physiological help. Bulimia is a serious medical condition that if left untreated can lead to death.