Bulimia: From Binging To Purging

February 28, 2008 | By DavidMark In Diet, Eating Disorders |

You eat a tuna sandwich. Then a milkshake. Your meal tastes good at first, but soon you feel disgusting, like you over ate. Its not a new feeling. You’ve gone through this before. Soon you find yourself in the bathroom. Your head hangs over the toilet and your finger pushed down your throat. The gag reflex in your throat kicks in, sending your body into the violent convulsions you’ve grown used to. The lunch you ate flies into the toilet bowl. Its not enough. There’s more to get out. So you use your gag reflex again and throw up more…

What is Bulimia?

If you start counting from the year 1979, the year Bulimia Nervosa became scrutinized as a recognized eating disorder, the disease is still very young. Despite Bulimia’s relative newness on the eating disorder scene, there has been a lot of research done on in. Bulimia Nervosa is generally revealed in women (very few cases affect men) around the age of 18.

The disease itself involves a cycle of binging and purging. The confusing aspect of Bulimia is that most sufferers maintain their bodyweight. Despite the balanced body weight, most Bulimia Nervosa sufferers inflict massive stress on their bodies through the violent heaving purges.

What Causes Bulimia?

There has been an overzealousness on the part of some professionals in placing the blame for Bulimia and other eating disorders on society’s emphasis on a lean physique. Research has shown that although societal factors can play a part in developing an eating disorder like Bulimia, there are many factors that contribute to adolescents developing Bulimia Nervosa. Some of these factors include psychological, biological, cultural, and familial. No matter the actual causes, the use of food as an emotional escape or cover is the central connecting point in all Bulimia cases. Most bulimics have emotional problems and a distorted awareness of a proper relationship to food. In bulimics as well as people suffering from other eating disorders, the disorder is an out growth of something deeper. Treating Bulimia, requires treating something deeper.

Treating Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa is a complex disease to treat. First of all, the Bulimic will appear normal to the untrained eye, rendering help before the advanced stages unlikely. Also, do to the cyclical nature of the disease, situations swing between anorexia and over eating. Treatments usually involve therapy since the disease is rooted in the psyche. Most professionals recommend Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), yet there are those who believe that who believe that CBT needs to be coupled with antidepressants.

No matter the the treatment, it is clear that Bulimics need a serious retraining in relating to food. This retraining reorganizes their emotional food connection in order to detach the inner pain that had most likely contributed and aided the Bulimic’s downward spiral. This occurs in many cases of Bulimia and the rates of successful rebounding from this eating disorder are very high.

For the short time Bulimia has been considered an illness, it has rendered millions of people both traumatized and dysfunctional. Most Bulimia is possible to counteract with a good diet, ignoring peers ridicules, and making sure to stay happy and joyful.

David Mark writes for numerous websites involved in spreading information that will help humanity. Learn more bout Bulimia.