by Allison Hope

Created on: February 24, 2009   Last Updated: March 19, 2009

Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder which is characterized by the sufferer binge eating and then purging the food from their bodies to prevent weight gain. This can happen to the bulimic anything from a couple of times a week to many times a day depending on the individual. There is usually thousands of calories consumed during an average binge and can result in the sufferer feeling out of control and disgusted with their behaviour.

This disorder can surface in late teens or early twenties and usually follows some major, very stressful life event or excessive dieting

Characteristics of Bulimia Nervosa:

* Regular obsessive binge eating
* Excessive behaviour to prevent weight gain (induce vomiting, take laxatives, strict dieting, excessive exercise)
* Self Esteem/Worth is highly influenced by physical appearance (weight, size)

There are two types of bulimia:

Purging: Removing the food from their bodies by drastic means such as ; vomiting, laxatives, enemas, diuretics

Non-Purging: This is the less common of the two types of bulimia where the sufferer uses excessive proportions of exercising and dieting or fasting to lose the calories gained during bingeing.

Signs and Symptoms Of Bulimia

Due to the secretive nature of the disorder it can be difficult to detect if someone is bulimic with the sufferer going to great lengths not to be discovered. Alert observation may be required. They may be of a normal weight or even overweight and appear to eat healthily. All bingeing will be done when no-one is around, and all food eaten from the fridge/cupboards will be replaced and the wrappings will be hidden. They may buy in binge food and eat it secretly in their room. It is done secretly because of the shame experienced through feeling out of control.

It is like a vicious circle: binge, purge, shame/disgust, excessive dieting, binge, purge .... and so on

Physical signs and symptoms:

* visiting the bathroom after eating (to induce vomiting)
* using laxatives after eating
* smell of vomit - or excessive teethbrushing or mint eating to cover up smell
* excessive excercising after eating
* bad or discoloured teeth due to stomach acid from vomiting
* fluctuations in weight due to bingeing and purging/dieting

Issues Causing Bulimia:

* major life changes
* low self esteem
* poor self/body image
* excessive dieting
* low levels of Seratonin (biological factor)

Effective Treatments

Bulimia Nervosa can be treated with professional help to resolve emotional and/or psychological issues that may
have caused the disorder. Psychotherapy can help the sufferer to understand and explore the feelings of being out of control, shame and low self esteem.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy can help the sufferer to deal with the unhealthy behaviour of bulimia and the unrealistic and negative thoughts that cause them. The patient can explore situations that trigger bulimic behaviour and learn coping strategies on how to avoid the triggers and change the thoughts that cause the behaviour patterns. The patient is then encouraged to stop dieting and learns to eat normally to break the cycle of binge/purge.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy helps to treat anxiety, depression and low self esteem experienced by sufferers of bulimia.

For further information concerning bulimia or other eating disorders contact:

The National Eating Disorders Association's free hotline on: 1-800-931-2237

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