Knowing the Reasons of Bulimia Nervosa

Learn How Become Obsessive on Getting "Dream" Body May Dangerous Your Life...

Bulimia nervosa or simply bulimia as it is commonly referred to, is an eating disorder caused by a combination of psychological and natural factors.

It is one of the most widely spread eating disorders of today and if left untreated, after a period of time it can become extremely dangerous to one's health, in severe cases leading to death. Let's take a look at what bulimia is all about, how it can be treated and how we can avoid falling in its traps.

Bulimia Nervosa - Psychological and Social Reasons

Bulimia Nervosa sufferes or simply Bulimics are also concerned with getting their body weight as low as possible. It is a psychological condition that manifests itself through abrupt eating habits such as constant overeating, followed by intentional purging.

At times, a person suffering from bulimia-nervosa will feel a constant and uncontrollable need for excessive eating, a factor which is usually linked to another eating disorder, namely binge eating. Those with the disorder may engorge themselves with heavy amounts of food, with some bulimics consuming as much as twenty thousand calories in a meal.

It's much different than anorexia nervosa, which is another common eating disorder in which individuals decrease the amount of food that they eat and undergo over-exercise or the use of laxatives in order to get their body as thin as possible.

Click here if you'd like to learn more about Anorexia Nervosa.

After these episodes of binge eating, or even after normal meals, the individual performs intentional purging through one of the following methods: vomiting, laxatives, enemas, fasting or diuretics. All these methods, used on their own or combined, are extremely damaging for our health if constantly applied.

Intentional purging through vomiting for example will build up acid levels in the stomach and esophagus, causing derangements of the digestive system and also localized damage to its organs.

A lot of people suffer from milder forms of bulimia nervosa, the causes for the eating disorder being psychological and social in nature. Modern society and urban culture produced a standardized image for our bodies, which we all tend to work up for, but some take this goal to an extreme level.

The disorder is caused by a poor self-image in many cases, and those with bulimia-nervosa are never satisfied with the appearance of their body. Even when they are at the pinnacle of low body weight, they may continue to try to lose weight, drastically damaging their body within the process.

This psychological addiction to "get fit" is the main cause for bulimia-nervosa and a lot of people tend to overlook the fact that the eating disorder's practices are more damaging to our interior than they are beneficial to our exterior.

Usually, in order to be diagnosed with bulimia you have to meet a set of eight criteria, which are the following:

1. The patient feels an uncontrollable need to eat and he consumes larger amounts of food than he would need at a meal


2. The patient uses intentional purging methods such as the ones described above (vomiting, laxatives, diuretics, enemas and so forth)


3. The patient is psychologically fixed on attaining a "perfect" body image and has a constant preoccupation to remaining thin


4. The patient does not suffer from anorexia nervosa (the two eating disorders can coexist however)


5. The patient is of normal weight or overweigh


6. The patient has urges to binge, overeat and intentionally purge the food at least twice per week for at least four months


7. Some individuals exhibit no symptoms or signs of the disorder, but one method of identifying symptoms includes eating with the individual and noting if they go to the bathroom immediately afterwards


8. Long-term bulimics may exhibit a dental problems such as tooth decay due to stomach acids eroding the enamel of the teeth, or problems with the throat. The glands of the neck and the face may appear to be swollen and a general sense of weakness may be present.

How Bulimia Nervosa Damage the Body

While weight loss may occur through the disorder, the damage that it does to the body is drastic and often irreversible.

As an example on how damaging bulimia can become to our bodies, here's a short list of the conditions and consequences it can produce:

• causes malnutrition
• causes dehydration
• hinders the body from obtaining the required amount of vitamins and minerals from food
• causes teeth erosion, increases the amount of cavities and may cause gum diseases
• may encourage the growth of peptic ulcers and cause pancreatitis
• swelling of the face (due to vomiting)
• muscle atrophy
• hypertension
• hormonal imbalance
• and many more!

As you can clearly see, bulimia nervosa is not something to play with. The problem is very prevalent within society, with a full ten percent of college-aged girls affected by the disorder.

Bulimics also face an increased occurrence of suicidal behavior. If you know an individual that you suspect may be suffering from the disease, confront them with love and compassion. Expect to be rejected, but suggest that they speak to a counselor or a doctor about the problem to see what they can do about overcoming it.**

For searching deeper information about this topic, please feel free to visit
our resources on Bulimia Nervosa.

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