Recently, the number of people suffering from eating disorders is growing rapidly in the world. “Relationships” with food turn into a real problem: someone brings themselves to exhaustion, others absorb the amount of food that would be enough for several people. The most common eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia. The latter will be discussed in this article.
What is bulimia: basic information
Bulimia is a nervous disorder that manifests itself in the fact that a person begins to absorb huge amounts of food. A sick person experiences bouts of insatiable hunger: that is why food addiction got its name, which literally can be translated as “bull hunger”. Sometimes bulimia is called kinorexia, or wolf hunger. During an attack, hunger is so intense that there may even be pain in the abdomen.
It would seem that people suffering from bulimia should gain quite a lot of weight quickly. However, it is not. Such patients are characterized by the desire immediately after an attack of overeating to get rid of the incoming food. This is manifested in the induction of vomiting, the use of excessive amounts of diuretics and laxatives, as well as increased sports. Sometimes people suffering from bulimia try to starve to get rid of calories gained during the “food binge”.
The main forms of the disease
Three main forms of bulimia can be distinguished:
- paroxysmal eating a large amount of food;
- continuous overeating, in which a person eats almost constantly, unable to force himself to stop;
- night attacks: in this case, wolfish appetite wakes up exclusively at night.
In addition, primary and secondary forms of bulimia are distinguished. The primary form is a constant, unconscious desire to absorb food, while secondary food dependence is a consequence of anorexia nervosa. It is due to the fact that a feeling of hunger sometimes pushes patients suffering from anorexia to overeating, followed by a feeling of guilt and attempts to cleanse the body by vomiting or taking laxatives.
The physiological causes of bulimia
Like any other eating disorder, bulimia can be caused by a number of reasons. Often food dependence becomes a consequence of organic disorders of the nervous system: often paroxysmal hunger is observed with epilepsy or becomes a consequence of a traumatic brain injury. Attacks of overeating often accompany mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia or obsessive-compulsive disorder, otherwise called neurosis of obsessive states. Sometimes wolf hunger occurs due to the fact that the level of insulin in the blood rises.
Psychological causes of bulimia
The reasons for overeating are not always obvious. Modern researchers believe that this disease has socio-ethnic roots. This point of view is well-founded, because bulimia usually affects women living in countries where a slim figure is valued, and appearance is given priority.
There is also a psychological reason for bulimia: a person with the help of food can try to correct his own emotional state. At the same time, patients seem to plunge into the infant state, when food intake was associated with pleasant impressions of safety and a feeling of maternal intimacy.That is, with bulimia, a person satisfies emotional hunger, as there are no other ways to experience positive emotions. Over time, dependence on food is formed, while patients almost do not feel its taste: the main thing for them is to feel the fullness of the stomach.
Who is prone to bulimia?
Since food dependence is caused by psychological reasons, we can distinguish the main psychological properties of people prone to this disease. Specialists note that patients have high demands on themselves: just like people who suffer from anorexia nervosa, they are “eternal honors”.
It is noted that bulimia often affects children from wealthy families. Of course, this is not due to the availability of a large amount of food, but to the fact that in such families children experience powerful pressure: parents continually remind us that the child should in no way let down the family and has no right not to live up to high expectations relatives.
Often patients suffer from loneliness and misunderstanding of others, are prone to depression and low mood.
Bulimia Symptoms
Of course, it is more difficult to recognize patients with bulimia than people with anorexia nervosa who are much less than normal. However, some symptoms can be seen even with the naked eye. How is bulimia manifested? Symptoms are as follows:
- destruction of tooth enamel. This is due to the fact that patients often induce vomiting, and gastric juice does not act on enamel in the best way;
- dehydration of the body;
- the weight of the patient can vary greatly over a short period of time;
- on the fingers, which the patient places in his mouth to cause an attack of vomiting, scratches are noticeable;
- due to vomiting, the esophagus becomes inflamed;
- the water-salt balance of the body is gradually disturbed, in connection with which convulsions may be observed in patients;
- in women suffering from bulimia, cycle disorders, including amenorrhea, can be observed;
- in the event that the patient abuses laxatives, the work of the gastrointestinal tract is upset;
- in severe cases, severe internal bleeding is possible.
Is food addiction dangerous? Treatment at its first manifestations is simply necessary. Need urgent help from a specialist. But more on that later.
Behavioral manifestations
People with bulimia are pathologically focused on the problem of excess weight, food and calorie counting. In addition, there is excessive self-criticism: for example, women suffering from bulimia can constantly complain to others about their own fullness, while not having excess weight.
It is important to note that gradually bulimia begins to destroy not only the body, but also the person’s personality. Due to the need to lead a secret life and constant bouts of overeating, combined with forced cleansing of the stomach, patients become nervous and irritable, which affects relationships with loved ones. In addition, patients often completely lose interest in life, being absorbed in their pathological experiences, which, in turn, can cause suicide.
If you notice that a loved one has become withdrawn and irritable, consumes large amounts of food, and after each meal goes to the toilet to induce vomiting, you should immediately contact a specialist. Otherwise, the changes may become irreversible: bulimia destroys the human body and leads to death.
Can bulimia be eliminated on its own?
How to get rid of food addiction? Bulimia is a complex complex disease that requires a rather long-term and difficult treatment. It may seem to patients that it is enough to show will to refuse to overeat, but this is not so: constant breakdowns only aggravate the feeling of guilt.
How to get rid of food addiction? It is very difficult to do it yourself.Bulimia can be compared with drug addiction, only food acts as a drug. And if the addict sometimes needs to make considerable efforts to get the next dose, then food is now quite affordable. This significantly complicates the independent attempts of patients to get rid of addiction: it is difficult to imagine a drug addict who could control himself, seeing drugs in the public domain on the shelves of supermarkets.
Bulimia: treatment
Only specialists can treat bulimia, while it is important that the rehabilitation proceeds under the supervision of a psychiatrist. In this case, a specialist gastroenterologist should take an active part in therapy.
Good results can be obtained by systematic work with an experienced psychologist who can find out what experiences the client is trying to seize. The psychologist’s task is to help people find other ways to solve problems and teach them how to cope with emotional stress without absorbing huge amounts of food.
How else is bulimia eliminated? Treatment of food addiction is carried out using cognitive therapy, which helps patients build a harmonious "relationship" with food. Of course, if bulimia is caused by brain damage, working with a psychologist is unlikely to be effective: in this case, you may need to take psychotropic drugs that will restrain the painful hunger.
Be healthy!
