Bulimia

Bulimia nervosa or bulimia, as it is usually known, is eating disorder. The chances of women developing this condition are higher than the chances of men developing it.

People tend not to eat properly because of the fear that they may put on too much of weight. People suffering from bulimia have huge and excessive quantities of food. Then they sicken themselves by taking laxatives. The former condition is called bingeing and the latter purging. The two conditions are maintained by people because they prefer to adhere to a particular weight. For those who have this condition, bingeing is compulsive. So they purge due to the guilty of bingeing.

Symptoms

The two major symptoms of bulimia nervosa are bingeing as well as purging.

Bingeing is conditions where the person tends to intake excessive quantities of food repeatedly that contain high calories even if they are not hungry. Bingeing starts as a way of dealing with the emotional stress they face, but it turns to be obsessive and become out of control.

Bingeing can be spontaneous as well as planned. Bingeing is a regular habit.

Purging is done out of the guilty of bingeing. This is mainly done because of the fear that he or she might put on too much of weight. Normally a person uses laxatives for purging, but at times methods like over exercising, starving, using diet pills etc are also used.

Other symptoms of bulimia are:

• obsessive about eating as well as food
• over eating
• starvation
• drastic changes in weight
• scarred knuckles
• anxiety
• depression
• isolation
• inferiority complex about one’s body shape and weight

Causes

Bulimia nervosa results from

• Low level of self esteem
• High depression level
• Psychological problems like obsessive compulsive disorder. Disorders related to anxiety, personality disorders as well as post
• traumatic stress disorder.
• Social pressures
• Cultural pressures
• Stressful events in one’s life
• Emotional feelings of the teenagers
• People who have close ones suffering from bulimia have higher chances of developing this condition.

Treatment

The medication for bulimia normally begins with psychological treatments, which will help the sufferer to go back to a healthy diet process.

The various psychological medications that can be used are:

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

The therapist will help the person to think about eating and food in new positive ways. It will also help the person to find out the triggers for bingeing and then avoid it.

Interpersonal therapy

If a person has any problems with his personal relationships that is leading him to bulimia, this treatment will help in analysing the cause for such problems and find solutions for them.

Medication

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are antidepressant drugs that may be administered for treating conditions like anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, social phobia as well as eating disorders.

The person must be hospitalised and treated if he or she attempts a suicide.

Complications

A few complications that can occur due to bulimia are:

• Persistent vomiting that leads to dental problems
• Irregular menstrual cycles
• Chances of the woman becoming pregnant is low
• Poor hair and skin
• swollen salivary glands
• Chemical imbalance
• Constipation