Bulimia nervosa is a condition manifesting through one's constant efforts not to gain weight, taking place hand-in-hand with binge eating disorder. Basically, bulimic people overeat and they force themselves to vomit or expel the food consumed through some other means. The affected individuals know that their binge eating is wrong but they cannot help themselves, being capable of consuming more than 5,000 calories in a single hour. Once they succumb to this binge eating bout, they immediately try to undo the action by vomiting, engaging in physical activity, taking laxatives and doing may other things frantically.
A Thing or Two about Bulimia
Note that bulimia does not have to involve purging. Namely, many people who suffer from this eating disorder tend to exercise, go on a diet or fast once they have gone through their binge eating sessions.
Bulimic people do their best to hide their condition and will rarely come out. They feel ashamed due to their weakness related to food cravings and they indulge into their disorder in solitude. Usually, once bulimic people eat a box of donuts or other, larger amounts of food on their own, they replace it so that their family or friends do not notice. Regardless, bulimia gets out of the closet whether you want it or not, since your closest friends and family members can easily see that something is not right, regarding your conduct and behavior.
Signs of Bulimia
Inability to stop eating is one of the most prominent signs of this eating disorder. The amounts of eaten food are abnormally large and the binge eating ritual is commonly performed when the sufferer is alone. Bulimic people eat a lot but do not gain weight. Food may disappear in households where bulimic people live and wrappings or empty plastic bags may be found in hidden places around the house. The affected individuals may have a habit of going to the bathroom after each meal, staying there for a longer period of time. Their hands and fingers may be covered in scars due to the fact that they often self-induce vomiting. This may take its toll on their teeth, leading to decay. Also, their cheeks may be red from vomiting. Finally, bulimic people are not skinny. Rather, they are slightly overweight in most cases.
Treating Bulimia
Timely treatment is crucial for overcoming this eating disorder. Low self-confidence levels, personal issues and many other factors may be hiding behind bulimia. Thus, these need to be identified and treated if this condition is to be gone.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy has shown great results when it comes to helping bulimic patients. This therapy helps people pinpoint the problem they are facing and change their thoughts and behavior so that they might overcome it. Basically, bulimic people need to stop binge eating and purging, introduce healthy eating habits, remove causes of physical and emotional stress from their lives and remain positive, believing in themselves.
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