Bulimia Nervosa is disorder wherein the person suffering from it is obsessed with his weight and may indulge in eating compulsively, without any control. In other words, a bulimic person indulges in binging, but once he is out of the binging spell, he feels guilty of the amount of food he has eaten and now this person resorts to purging (getting the food out of the system in a forcible way either by vomiting or through use of laxatives)
This pattern of over eating and purging is the most common thing found among bulimics. You may wonder whether this is really a serious problem or just a passing phase. The fact is that Bulimia Nervosa is a disorder which can be fatal. This is because the constant vomiting and use of laxatives may affect the digestive system of a person very badly and thus a bulimic may have complaints of diarrhea or constipation, stomach ulcers and mouth sores. Bulimia also leads to dehydration, anemia, low blood pressure and irregular heartbeat. Bulimic women may have hormonal problems due to which they may have irregular menstruation or no menstruation at all, thus leading to infertility.
Not only does Bulimia affect a person's physical state, a person's mental state is also not spared. A bulimic person may end up with low self esteem and depression due to which he may start avoiding family and friends and in some cases, this may also lead to suicide.
Since most of the bulimic people fall in the normal weight range, it is very difficult to spot this disorder. Then how does one spot the signs of Bulimia? One of the key signs of this disorder is that Bulimic people are obsessed with their weight, on one hand they indulge in binging but at the same time, they have a fear that if they start eating, they wouldn't be able to stop. The people suffering from Bulimia cannot control their eating, they may sneak into the kitchen when the other members are not around and they may also be eating unusual quantity of food. There may be a phase where they suddenly stop eating and go on a fasting spree. Other signs of this disorder are that bulimic patients may just rush to the bathroom immediately after their meals.
This pattern of over eating and purging is the most common thing found among bulimics. You may wonder whether this is really a serious problem or just a passing phase. The fact is that Bulimia Nervosa is a disorder which can be fatal. This is because the constant vomiting and use of laxatives may affect the digestive system of a person very badly and thus a bulimic may have complaints of diarrhea or constipation, stomach ulcers and mouth sores. Bulimia also leads to dehydration, anemia, low blood pressure and irregular heartbeat. Bulimic women may have hormonal problems due to which they may have irregular menstruation or no menstruation at all, thus leading to infertility.
Not only does Bulimia affect a person's physical state, a person's mental state is also not spared. A bulimic person may end up with low self esteem and depression due to which he may start avoiding family and friends and in some cases, this may also lead to suicide.
Since most of the bulimic people fall in the normal weight range, it is very difficult to spot this disorder. Then how does one spot the signs of Bulimia? One of the key signs of this disorder is that Bulimic people are obsessed with their weight, on one hand they indulge in binging but at the same time, they have a fear that if they start eating, they wouldn't be able to stop. The people suffering from Bulimia cannot control their eating, they may sneak into the kitchen when the other members are not around and they may also be eating unusual quantity of food. There may be a phase where they suddenly stop eating and go on a fasting spree. Other signs of this disorder are that bulimic patients may just rush to the bathroom immediately after their meals.
- Relevant info about Bulimia including statistics
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