Post by Mel on Jan 1, 2006 19:35:47 GMT -5
Bulimia Nervosa
Symptoms, causes, recovery
By Abigail Natenshon, MA
What is Bulimia Nervosa?
Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder marked by out of control eating followed by some form of purging. It typically accompanies a pathological fear of weight gain leading to food restriction, followed by the need to gorge in response to extreme hunger. The excessive caloric intake leads to the perceived need to purge. With bulimia, eating becomes disregulated and feels out of control.
What is a bulimic binge?
Bulimic eating episodes are called binges; binges are defined as the consumption of large amounts of food during a short period of time. In some instances, victims of bulimia cannot stop eating until they have consumed so much food that their body and skin aches. In other instances, victims of bulimia report having "binged" on as few as 5 grapes, or on three teasthingys of cottage cheese. It is my opinion that a bulimic binge has less to do with the amount of food consumed, and more to do with the sense of being out of control and virtually compelled to consume the food. The manner in which the food is consumed (generally frenzied and mindless, where the food is hardly tasted) is also important in determining a binge. Many bulimics describe a "trance-like" state that comes over them when they are binge eating.
As an example of a binge episode, one young woman with bulimia found herself, at a time of great stress, compelled to drive into a 7-11 convenience store where she purchasing three cupcakes; she then proceeded to stuff them down her throat whole in an emotional frenzy in the dark and deserted alley behind the store. As far as she was concerned, her binge had begun at the moment when she drove her car up to the front door and did not finish until she had purged the cupcakes. She felt that she was in an altered state throughout the five-minute interval, and experienced a profound sense of relief from her anxiety following the binge/purge cycle. The bulimic cycle releases endorphins, brain chemicals that infuse a person with a sense of numbness or euphoria. Ironically, the relief passes in short order, only to be replaced by anxiety and guilt for the bulimic behaviors.
What causes bulimia?
Bulimia results from the coming together of diverse factors, both chemical and environmental. People are born with an inherited predisposition towards developing bulimia, particularly where addiction is in the genes. Bulimic individuals who experience the hardest struggle in making a full recovery are those who suffer from addictions to substances. A significant correlation between the development of clinical bulimia nervosa and sexual abuse has also been proven.
In addition to genetics, environmental factors can contribute to triggering the onset of bulimia. These include peer pressures, family attitudes, the influence of the media creating a need for thinness, poor self-esteem and a lack of acceptance of self and body shape. In addition, poor eating habits can be the start of a problem that can eventually escalate to bulimia; dieting and excessive hunger lead to gorging and gorging leads to the propensity to purge. The bottom line, however, is that bulimia and anorexia are the misuse of food to resolve emotional problems. When a person is incapable of facing feelings, defining problems, and resolving them effectively, that person is more apt to become susceptible to the onset of bulimia. Bulimia and anorexia are the most lethal of all the mental health disorders, killing or maiming for six to thirteen percent of its victims, 87 percent of whom are individuals under twenty years of age.
What are the symptoms of bulimia?
Other symptoms of bulimia may include the abuse of laxatives, diuretics, and/or diet pills, all of which are a form of purging. Another very common form of bulimia is compulsive and excessive exercising, which is also commonly known as an activity disorder.
How easy is it to recognize bulimia?
How easy is it to recognize bulimia in a loved one? Not easy at all. Bulimic individuals appear to be of normal weight most often. Being a secretive disease, there is typically no way to recognize bulimia simply by observing visible behaviors. Observers need to learn to read the hidden signs of a hidden disease. Most often, bulimia is a disease that the victim covets and holds close as a result of the fear of loosening a grip on a crutch that has gotten them through life and hard times. By purging one's dinner, (i.e. taking control of one's own body) the victim feels in control of his or her life. With bulimia, purging becomes a metaphor for refusing to face and deal with all of life's difficulties. Bulimia rarely shows up in the doctor's office or in lab tests for blood and urine.
Who suffers from bulimia?
Children are reported to suffer from bulimia at ever younger ages. The average age of onset has recently dropped from 13 - 17 to ages 9 - 12. As girls reach puberty at ever younger ages, they find themselves growing larger at precisely the time when they are most aware of society's prescription for them to be thin. Dieting, rather than healthy eating, becomes a way of life for children in search of thinness. Dieting damages healthful metabolic processes and establishes unhealthy eating habits that bring young people into their adult years with a propensity for disordered eating and obesity.
The unresolved issues and dysfunctional habits connected with bulimia is frequently brought into a person's adult years. Many bulimic individuals in their 20's, 30's and 40's have harbored these secret diseases alone and isolated for decades at a time. A member of my therapy group for adults with bulimia and anorexia stated that during the 20 years of her bulimia, she had never told a single person of her struggles. She believes that her husband and four children still do not know. Another gal spoke of seeing a psychiatrist for seven years twice a week without confessing to him that she was bulimic. When asked why, she stated that she felt he would be “grossed out” and would not want to work with her anymore.
Do people recover from bulimia?
It has been said that “Once bulimic, always bulimic.” Not so. Research has shown that where detected early and treated effectively, 80% of victims of bulimia recover. There is every reason to believe that outcomes can and will be good to cure the disease, as well as improve the quality of life for the sufferers of bulimia. My book, When Your Child Has an Eating Disorder is a reader-friendly and effective guide for patients, parents and professionals in bringing about healing.
Symptoms, causes, recovery
By Abigail Natenshon, MA
What is Bulimia Nervosa?
Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder marked by out of control eating followed by some form of purging. It typically accompanies a pathological fear of weight gain leading to food restriction, followed by the need to gorge in response to extreme hunger. The excessive caloric intake leads to the perceived need to purge. With bulimia, eating becomes disregulated and feels out of control.
What is a bulimic binge?
Bulimic eating episodes are called binges; binges are defined as the consumption of large amounts of food during a short period of time. In some instances, victims of bulimia cannot stop eating until they have consumed so much food that their body and skin aches. In other instances, victims of bulimia report having "binged" on as few as 5 grapes, or on three teasthingys of cottage cheese. It is my opinion that a bulimic binge has less to do with the amount of food consumed, and more to do with the sense of being out of control and virtually compelled to consume the food. The manner in which the food is consumed (generally frenzied and mindless, where the food is hardly tasted) is also important in determining a binge. Many bulimics describe a "trance-like" state that comes over them when they are binge eating.
As an example of a binge episode, one young woman with bulimia found herself, at a time of great stress, compelled to drive into a 7-11 convenience store where she purchasing three cupcakes; she then proceeded to stuff them down her throat whole in an emotional frenzy in the dark and deserted alley behind the store. As far as she was concerned, her binge had begun at the moment when she drove her car up to the front door and did not finish until she had purged the cupcakes. She felt that she was in an altered state throughout the five-minute interval, and experienced a profound sense of relief from her anxiety following the binge/purge cycle. The bulimic cycle releases endorphins, brain chemicals that infuse a person with a sense of numbness or euphoria. Ironically, the relief passes in short order, only to be replaced by anxiety and guilt for the bulimic behaviors.
What causes bulimia?
Bulimia results from the coming together of diverse factors, both chemical and environmental. People are born with an inherited predisposition towards developing bulimia, particularly where addiction is in the genes. Bulimic individuals who experience the hardest struggle in making a full recovery are those who suffer from addictions to substances. A significant correlation between the development of clinical bulimia nervosa and sexual abuse has also been proven.
In addition to genetics, environmental factors can contribute to triggering the onset of bulimia. These include peer pressures, family attitudes, the influence of the media creating a need for thinness, poor self-esteem and a lack of acceptance of self and body shape. In addition, poor eating habits can be the start of a problem that can eventually escalate to bulimia; dieting and excessive hunger lead to gorging and gorging leads to the propensity to purge. The bottom line, however, is that bulimia and anorexia are the misuse of food to resolve emotional problems. When a person is incapable of facing feelings, defining problems, and resolving them effectively, that person is more apt to become susceptible to the onset of bulimia. Bulimia and anorexia are the most lethal of all the mental health disorders, killing or maiming for six to thirteen percent of its victims, 87 percent of whom are individuals under twenty years of age.
What are the symptoms of bulimia?
Other symptoms of bulimia may include the abuse of laxatives, diuretics, and/or diet pills, all of which are a form of purging. Another very common form of bulimia is compulsive and excessive exercising, which is also commonly known as an activity disorder.
How easy is it to recognize bulimia?
How easy is it to recognize bulimia in a loved one? Not easy at all. Bulimic individuals appear to be of normal weight most often. Being a secretive disease, there is typically no way to recognize bulimia simply by observing visible behaviors. Observers need to learn to read the hidden signs of a hidden disease. Most often, bulimia is a disease that the victim covets and holds close as a result of the fear of loosening a grip on a crutch that has gotten them through life and hard times. By purging one's dinner, (i.e. taking control of one's own body) the victim feels in control of his or her life. With bulimia, purging becomes a metaphor for refusing to face and deal with all of life's difficulties. Bulimia rarely shows up in the doctor's office or in lab tests for blood and urine.
Who suffers from bulimia?
Children are reported to suffer from bulimia at ever younger ages. The average age of onset has recently dropped from 13 - 17 to ages 9 - 12. As girls reach puberty at ever younger ages, they find themselves growing larger at precisely the time when they are most aware of society's prescription for them to be thin. Dieting, rather than healthy eating, becomes a way of life for children in search of thinness. Dieting damages healthful metabolic processes and establishes unhealthy eating habits that bring young people into their adult years with a propensity for disordered eating and obesity.
The unresolved issues and dysfunctional habits connected with bulimia is frequently brought into a person's adult years. Many bulimic individuals in their 20's, 30's and 40's have harbored these secret diseases alone and isolated for decades at a time. A member of my therapy group for adults with bulimia and anorexia stated that during the 20 years of her bulimia, she had never told a single person of her struggles. She believes that her husband and four children still do not know. Another gal spoke of seeing a psychiatrist for seven years twice a week without confessing to him that she was bulimic. When asked why, she stated that she felt he would be “grossed out” and would not want to work with her anymore.
Do people recover from bulimia?
It has been said that “Once bulimic, always bulimic.” Not so. Research has shown that where detected early and treated effectively, 80% of victims of bulimia recover. There is every reason to believe that outcomes can and will be good to cure the disease, as well as improve the quality of life for the sufferers of bulimia. My book, When Your Child Has an Eating Disorder is a reader-friendly and effective guide for patients, parents and professionals in bringing about healing.