Causes of bulimia

Bulimia, which is also called bulimia nervosa, is a disorderwhich is characterized by episodes of excessive eating in secret, after whichpersons suffering from this disorder force themselves to eliminate the foodfrom their body by vomiting or using laxatives, that is, foods or drugs whichstimulate the evacuation of the bowels. Aside from being an eating disorder,bulimia is also associated with a number of mental disorders, as that is whereit originates from. Conditions such as depression, low self-esteem and anxietycan trigger bulimia.

What constitutes an eating disorder?

Simply put, an eating disorder satisfies a person’s mentalneed to eat and the physical one. Everyone has their own routine when it comesto eating. But when a person changes his or her routine and develops adifferent attitude towards food which is motivated by a paranoid fear ofgaining weight, they have most likely developed an eating disorder.

People who suffer from the bulimic eating disorder arealways torn between two phases which are called binging and purging inbulimia. Binging is the first part when the person feels the urge to overeatwhich they are unable to stop and control. The second part, purging, comes withan overwhelming sense of guilt due to such overindulgence and that’s when theyfeel like they must get it out of their bodies at once.

Who is likely to suffer from bulimia?

Both men and women can suffer from bulimia, but it is about10 times more likely for women to develop this condition. Women most commonlyget bulimia at the age of 18 or 19, but it can affect them up to the age of 40.Children are extremely unlikely to develop it.

What does bulimia originate from?

Bulimia basically revolves around the somewhat irrationalfear of gaining weight, but there are much more complicated emotional issuesunderneath it. One of the most frequent factors which trigger bulimia is lowself-esteem. Persons who cannot recognize their own value and feel frustratedand unsatisfied with themselves will most likely associate this problem withtheir physical appearance and feel like if they sorted that out, lost weight,that is, all those feelings would go away. Also, the actions a bulimic personperforms may also be a mechanism of coping with depression, especially thebinging part. Depressed persons are known to overeat because it makes themfind some kind of comfort in food, but depressed bulimic persons fall rightback into despair right after the purging part, which makes it a never-endingcycle for them.

Leading a stressful lifestyle or the occurrence of a tragic stressful event may also lead to bulimia.