Bulimia

Description

Bulimia or also called bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by a tendency to overeat and after this intentional vomiting /purging/.

Binging is associated with consuming large amounts of food in a short period of time.

Cleansing the body of ingested food most often consists of forced vomiting or abuse of laxatives, diet pills, diuretics – drugs that control blood pressure by expelling fluids from the body through urination, or other medications, due to fear of weight gain per weight.

It is possible that the affected person tries to protect himself from gaining weight due to overeating by over-exercising, following a very strict diet or fasting for long periods of time.

No official statistics are kept in Bulgaria, but in the USA, according to some studies, about 1% of the population suffers from the disease at some point in their lives.

Other statistics indicate that women are more prone to eating disorders and cases have doubled since 1960. so far.

The risk factors are many. People with this or other eating disorders often suffer from a personality disorder, abuse illicit substances, or have mood problems such as depression or anxiety.

What are the causes?

Although the exact cause of the disease is not known, a number of risk factors seem to influence its onset and subsequent development.

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• Research has found that eating disorders in general are more likely to affect people whose relatives have also suffered from them. This increased incidence may be related to genes, but the family environment itself, which may be predisposing, should not be overlooked.

• Scientists have found that altered levels of serotonin in the brain may be linked to the development of clinical depression.

• Experts believe that cultural patterns are particularly predisposing to most eating disorders. In many countries, emphasis is placed on a slim sculpted body without fat as an indicator of excellent health.

These cultural patterns can have a strong influence especially on adolescent girls in their attempt to gain the approval of others and especially men to push them towards bulimia.

• There is increasing evidence to support the view that people who tend to ruminate, meaning they focus on their sense of a predicament and its possible causes, without actively seeking a way to solve their problems , are at greater risk of developing eating disorders, including bulimia.

What are the symptoms?

The earliest warning sign of the disease is excessive attention to weight and body shape, which, viewed from the side, looks like an obsession and differs from the normal healthy vanity that drives everyone a person should do everything in his power to look good but without punishing himself.

It is characteristic of an eating disorder that those affected try their best to hide their problem and keep no one present when they induce vomiting or abuse laxatives or other diuretics.

This concealment often makes it difficult for others to notice the problem until serious complications of self-punishment occur.

Treatment of bulimia

In most cases, treatment takes place in a home environment without the need for hospitalization, with the help of doctors and psychologists, unless a serious physiological complication requires hospitalization .

Early detection of the disorder and initiation of treatment is important because over time this pattern of behavior becomes more and more entrenched and it is much more difficult for the affected person to be affected by behavioral therapy.< /p>

In addition, the support of the closest people is also important, who will encourage the patient to eat normally and will support him in the treatment.