Bulimia – What is it, Symptoms and Treatments
For several years now, the media has been emphasizing to everyone who has access to it about the perfect life model, namely the famous margarine commercial. Among the issues to have a perfect life is the “perfect body”. In the media conception, to be happy you have to be thin and happy all the time and this ends up causing many problems for people, such as the numerous cases of eating disorders.
Anorexia is a type of Bulimia , which consists of the constant fear of gaining weight, which causes the person to stop eating to maintain the ideal body. Bulimia is also a psychological disorder, which involves particular characteristics of each person, such as low self-esteem.
Causes of Bulimia: Bulimia doesnot yet have an exact cause, but because it is an eating disorder, many factors are involved in the practice of instant calorie elimination. As mentioned, the influence of the media on people counts a lot in this process.
The cult of the body is still widely practiced by many people, even more so with the contempt for people who are overweight , which is also propagated through different means. This, in conjunction with depression or low self-esteem, can trigger anxiety attacks in someone, causing them to look for extremist ways to lose weight quickly, while looking for a certain type of comfort in food.
Symptoms of Bulimia: There are a variety of types of food ingested in binge eating attacks, however, sweets and high calorie foods are the most common. In Bulimia , there are behavioral and physical symptoms, such as:
- Losing control over how much you eat.
- Going to the bathroom frequently during and after meals.
- Induce vomiting after meals.
- Regularly use laxatives and diuretics.
- Fasting constantly and exercising excessively.
- Hide food at home.
- Eating large amounts of food in secret and not eating in front of other people.
- Having feelings of anxiety , depression, shame, distress or guilt after eating too much food.
- Talk a lot about diets, weight and body shapes.
- Having constant sores and inflammation in the mouth and throat.
- Having tooth wear and recurring cavities.
- Having irregular menstrual cycles.
- Not gaining weight even though you eat a lot.
- Introduce dry skin.
- Present very fine hair.
- Having a lack of energy.
- Present substance abuse, such as alcohol and other drugs.
Diagnoses of Bulimia: To diagnose Bulimia , the doctor to be consulted is the general practitioner. Once at the appointment, he may ask you a few questions to help with an accurate diagnosis, such as:
- How long has this concern with weight been around ?
- Do you do physical exercises?
- How many times a day do you eat?
- What means are used for weight loss ?
Having asked the questions, the specialist may also perform some physical examinations on the patient, which may show the following signs:
- Broken blood vessels in the eyes;
- Dry mouth;
- Eye bags that resemble “looking at the cheeks”;
- Skin rashes and pimples ;
- Small cuts and calluses on the fingers, due to self-induced vomiting.
If the doctor is still unsure of the patient’s condition, he or she may order blood , urine, and stool tests to find out if there are any signs of electrolyte imbalance or dehydration.
Bulimia Treatments: The multidisciplinary approach is the most appropriate in the treatment of Bulimia , and includes individual or group psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy and nutritional approach on an outpatient basis.
- Cognitive-behavioral techniques have been shown to be effective.
- Antidepressant medications have also been shown to be effective in controlling bulimic episodes.
- The nutritional approach aims to establish a healthier eating habit, eliminating the “binge/purging/ fasting ” cycle.
- Family counseling and/or therapy is necessary since the family plays a very important role in the patient’s recovery.