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Bulimia Nervosa is a devastating illness with a 15% mortality rate. The sufferers ravage their bodies with various purging techniques. If they are fortunate enough to survive bulimia, they usually are plagued with multiple health problems for the rest of their life.
The typical Bulimic is usually a highly intelligent and extremely sensitive person. According to the experts, these individuals suffer from low self-esteem, perfectionism and have problems coping with sexuality issues. They often feel they are somehow flawed inside and are unable to fix it. To hide this flaw from others, they feel they must be perfect on the outside. When they discover that this is not achievable, the need for control over some aspect of their life becomes overwhelming. The eating disorder starts to emerge. If they can’t control what goes into their mouth, at least they can control what goes out.
A ritualistic behavior around food starts to develop. Most sufferers develop an extreme aversion to fat. They usually will not eat anything with even a trace of fat. Some other common symptoms relating to food are as follows;
-No eating after a specific time of day
-Lying about what they have eaten
-Hiding the food they eat
-Purging by vomiting, laxative or diuretic abuse
-Excessive exercise after eating
-Withdrawal from social situations involving food
There is no organ system that remains untouched by Bulimia. The illness weakens the heart, lowers bone density, causes amenorrhea (loss of menstrual periods) and various other side effects. A lot of times, these side effects are irreversible. If the illness is treated early enough, many of the severe side effects can be avoided altogether. Strict monitoring has to be done during and after recovery to ensure the most effective treatment is being used.
There is no one thing that triggers Bulimia. Some of the contributing factors are family dynamics, sexual abuse, peer pressure and finally the media. With the current message that “thinness relates directly to success”, it is no wonder that a huge importance is placed on being thin.
Bulimia is one of the most frustrating illnesses to treat. A huge power struggle goes on between the sufferer and the illness. It takes time, patience and compassion to help someone through an eating disorder. Help is out there, but you need to ask for it.
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