Bulimia (literally translated means "hunger
like an ox") is a psychological illness characterized by secret episodes of uncontrolled
binge-eating followed by inappropriate methods of weight control such as self-induced
vomiting, fasting, abuse of laxative, enemas, diuretic and diet pills, or excessive
exercise.
Such bulimic behaviours can be very harmful and
dangerous to an individual's body and over time may lead to serious medical complications
or even death.
Bulimia can quickly become a vicious circle
of dieting and bingeing of which it can be very hard to get out of.
"I
was sitting on the floor in front of the fridge in the middle of the night and
eating a loaf of bread, a box of cookies, a bag of chips and then some ice cream
and juice to help it all go down. I felt so guilty afterwards that I threw it
all up."
"I must have ate almost 10,000 calories in a single
eating period!!!!"
"The only thing I really looked forward
to was bingeing and purging. Instead of being with my friends, I was eating tons
of food... and then throwing it all up."
"I vomit after every
meal no matter how little food I had. My stomach and my throat hurt all the time."
"I am dependend so much on my bulimia. I know it has control
over me but it is what makes me happy. Binging and purging is the only thing I
look forward to."
sore throat, tooth decay and bad breath caused
by excessive vomiting
loss of the enamel on the teeth (it is dissolved
by the stomach acid in the vomit)
swollen salivary glands making the
face rounder
poor skin condition
hair loss
irregular
‘periods’ or even loss of period
loss of interest in sex
lethargy
and tiredness
increased risk of heart problems and problems with other
internal organs
constipation
in extreme cases, bulimia can cause
heart failure
an imbalance or dangerously low levels of the essential
minerals in the body can significantly, even fatally affect the working of vital
internal organs
disappearing to the
toilet after meals in order to vomit
abuse of laxatives, enemas, diuretics
or diet pills
periods of fasting and very strict dieting
excessive
exercise
secrecy and reluctance to socialise
shoplifting for
food
abnormal amounts of money spent on food
food disappearing
unexpectedly or being secretly hoarded
While normal food intake for
a teenager is 2,000 to 3,000 calories in a day, bulimic binges average about 3,400
calories in a 1 1/4 hours, according to one study. Some bulimics consume up to
20,000 calories in binges lasting as long as eight hours. Some spend $50 or more
a day on food and may resort to stealing food or money to support their obsession.
What to do when you feel
like losing control... Instead of binging, try to calm yourself down. Ask yourself
"Do I really need to binge?"
The following tips may help you
get the control back over your impuslive eating behaviour.
When you
feel like being at risk of losing control: Wait ten minutes; count to 100 - waiting
for a couple of minutes usually makes the cravings go away.
Have a big
glass of water.
Call a friend.
Visit a friend.
Ask
a friend to come over.
Call an Eating Disorder Hotline.
Call
your therapist.
Call someone from your support group.
Write
your journal. Write an e-mail to a friend.
Listen to music.
Listen
to a comedy tape or video.
Dance to your faviourite songs.
Watch
a movie.
Read a book.
Take a nap.
Pray.
Exercise.
Medidate.
Go to a tanning salon.
Paint a picture.
Clean
your room.
Take a relaxing bath.
Go for a walk (don't take money
with you!)
Spend time with your pet.
Plant flowers or pull weeds
in a garden.
Colour your hair.
Paint your nails.
Go
to eating disorder support websites and chat online with people who are going
through the same as you are.
Plan regular activities for your most difficult
time of day.
Individuals with bulimia are very dissatisfied
with their bodies and have extreme concerns with their body weight and shape -
which are the key factors for them in determing how they feel about themselves.
Their self esteem is very low and directly related to the way their body looks
and how much they weigh.
Some sufferers with an eating disorder assume
there is something wrong with their bodies when they cannot fit into some "standard"
size and others will reject a pair of jeans simply because they won't wear a particular
size.
Bulimia can be treated and can be successfully overcome.
People with this eating disorder can get well, can learn to eat normally again
and can learn to respect and love themselves for whom they are. Bulimia involves
the mind and the body, so psychological and medical help (provided from such as
health doctors, psychologists, clinical social workers, dietitians) is beneficial
and necessary in most cases. Hospitalization is very unlikley with bulimics and
is generally only used for eating disorder victims whose weight is dangerously
low. It is very unlikley for sufferers from bulimia to be able to successfully
get out of the cycle without professional help.
"Somehow I want my family
to find out so I can get help. I do need help... I throw up at least once a day.
I know I need help but I don't know where to go. I know I can't do it on my own."
Eating disorders can be treated and a healthy weight
restored. The sooner these disorders are diagnosed and treated, the better the
outcomes are likely to be. Because of their complexity, eating disorders require
a comprehensive treatment plan involving medical care and monitoring, psychosocial
interventions, nutritional counseling and, when appropriate, medication management.
At the time of diagnosis, the clinician must determine whether the person is in
immediate danger and requires hospitalization.
The primary goal of treatment
for bulimia is to reduce or eliminate binge eating and purging behavior. To
this end, nutritional rehabilitation, psychosocial intervention, and medication
management strategies are often employed. Establishment of a pattern of regular,
non-binge meals, improvement of attitudes related to the eating disorder, encouragement
of healthy but not excessive exercise, and resolution of co-occurring conditions
such as mood or anxiety disorders are among the specific aims of these strategies.
Individual psychotherapy (especially cognitive-behavioral or interpersonal psychotherapy),
group psychotherapy that uses a cognitive-behavioral approach, and family or marital
therapy have been reported to be effective. Psychotropic medications, primarily
antidepressants such as the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), have
been found helpful for people with bulimia, particularly those with significant
symptoms of depression or anxiety, or those who have not responded adequately
to psychosocial treatment alone. These medications also may help prevent relapse.
The treatment goals and strategies for binge-eating disorder are similar
to those for bulimia, and studies are currently evaluating the effectiveness of
various interventions.
People with eating disorders often do not recognize
or admit that they are ill. As a result, they may strongly resist getting and
staying in treatment. Family members or other trusted individuals can be helpful
in ensuring that the person with an eating disorder receives needed care and rehabilitation.
For some people, treatment may be long term.
About
ten percent of sufferers from bulimia are men. Up to ten percent of individuals
with bulimia will die from either starvation, cardiac arrest, other medical complications,
or suicide.
Eating
disorders seriously affect the hormonal system and therefore make it extremely
difficult to both conceive and carry a child to term. Women suffering from eating
disoders put their lifes and the life their baby in danger and raise the risk
of miscarriage, prematurity, postnatal depression. You should not attempt to get
pregnant until you are well on your way to recovery, or recovered. It is important
for all pregnant women to receive proper prenatal care and have regular pre-natal
visits. In addition, an enrollment in a prenatal exercise class is a good idea.
For more detailed information on eating disorders and pregnancy - please
click here.
Lindsey recovered from bulimia in the 1970's and
has been involved with eating disorder education along with her husband Leigh
Cohn who supported her through her recovery.
This self-help guide offers advice and resources
for understanding and overcoming bulimia (the binge-purge cycle). The revised
edition has updated information and additional material on men and bulimia, sexual
trauma, body image, relationships, and much more. Includes recommendations from
400 recovered bulimics. Useful for therapists, educators, bulimics, and their
loved-ones.
Learning To Be Me: My Twenty-Three-Year Battle
with Bulimia by Jocelyn Golden
"Nobody told
me it was going to be like this."
Publisher: iUniverse,
Inc. Publication Date: October 18, 2005 ISBN: 0-595-369-146
"Learning To Be Me" tells the true story of my twenty-three-year
battle with, and ultimate journey into recovery from, an extreme form of bulimia.
I have lived with Bulimia for 23 years from the age 13. In the intervening years
I have experienced first hand the basest of humiliations examining my own vomit
for traces of everything I had eaten, and abusing so many laxatives for so many
years to the point where I no longer had control over my body and slept in my
own filth until my body finally gave up and I lost my large intestine forever.
Gone, not because of an accident but because of what I had done to myself, deliberately
and systematically for years. (Jocelyn Golden)
Personal Review:
I
want to thank Jocelyn for her courage to write this brutally honest book about
her long battle with bulimia and the courage to take on the challenge of informing
the world and saving others. Her story has deeply touched me and reminds me in
many ways of my own battles with bulimia. I strongly recommend this book to both
young and older women.
Wasted - A Memoir Of Anorexia And Bulimia
by Marya Hornbacher
A brutaly honest autobiography of
an eating disorderderd girl.
Publisher: HarperCollins Publication
Date: January 15, 1999 ISBN: 0-060-930-934
At
the age of five, she returned home from ballet class one day, put on a enormous
sweater, curled up on her bed, and cried--because she thought she was fat. By
age nine she was secretly bulimic, throwing up at home after school. She added
anorexia to her repetoire a few years later and took great pride in her ability
to starve. Marya's story gathers intensity with each passing year. She sustained
both anorexia and bulimia through five lengthy hospitalizations, endless therapy,
the loss of family, friends, jobs, and, ultimately, any sense of what it means
to be "normal." Wasted is the story of one woman's travels to the darker side
of reality, and her decision to find her way back again--on her own terms.
Personal Review:
This is the brutally honest story
of a girl with an extreme form of anorexia and bulimia. I read "Wasted"
a couple of years ago, when my eating disorder was at its worst point. Her story
has helped me a lot with my own bulimia and it gave me hope that a woman with
a much more extreme eating disorder was able to survive the many battles she fought.
This book is definitely a must read for any girl and woman.
Life Without ED - How One Woman Declared
Independence from Her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too by Jenni Schaefer
Publisher:
McGraw-Hill Publication Date: December 26, 2003 ISBN: 0-071-422-986
Jenni had been in an abusive relationship with Ed for
far too long. Ed's name comes from the initials E.D. - as in eating disorder.
He controlled Jenni’s life, distorted her self-image, and tried to physically
harm her throughout their long affair. Then Jenni met psychotherapist and author
Thom Rutledge. He taught her how to treat her eating disorder as a relationship,
not a condition. By thinking of her eating disorder as a unique personality separate
from her own, Jenni was able to break up with Ed once and for all.
Inspiring, compassionate, and filled with
practical exercises to help you break up with your own personal E.D., Life Without
Ed provides new hope for the disorders that plague millions of women and young
girls. Beginning with Jenni’s “divorce” from Ed, this supportive, lifesaving book
combines a patient’s insights and experiences with a therapist’s prescriptions
for success to help you live a healthier, happier life without Ed.
Silent Screams
is a collection of poems at the core of Lori Henry's journey in recovering from
bulimia. From her desparate lows to her ecstatic highs, one can always relate
to the troubled heart.
"I am recovering from bulimia.
All the feelings that I have been running away from, that I was scared of, that
I thought too hideous to ever share, are collected inside of these pages, raw
and charged with emotion. From being entirely resigned to ever fight back, the
moments of anger, frustration, and desperation, to the amazing power of freedom
I am beginning to find; I hope these poems will take the reader on a journey through
the ups and downs of torment and happiness, the places where one can always find
something to relate to. In my times of utter despair, these Silent Screams were
all I could say to relieve even the smallest amount of pain." - Lori Henry
Andrea's Voice - Silenced
by Bulimia Her Story and Her Mother's Journey Through Grief Toward
Understanding
by Doris Schmeltzer and
Andrea Lynn Schmeltzer
Publisher: Gurze Books Publication
Date: May 15, 2006 ISBN: 0-936-077-018
After a one-year struggle with bulimia, Andrea Smeltzer died in her sleep at
the age of 19, catapulting her mother, Doris, into a journey of self-discovery.
By combining Andrea’s poetry and journal entries, mother and daughter tell the
story together, capturing the bond that connected them. Doris’ honest exploration
of the emotional issues surrounding her daughter’s development of bulimia provide
insight and guidance not only to parents, but also to any young woman who is struggling
to find her independence.
Vibrant, talented, strong, and beautiful,
Andrea Smeltzer seemed destined for a great future. But after a one-year struggle
with bulimia, she died in her sleep at age 19, catapulting her mother Doris into
a wrenching but ultimately rewarding journey of discovery. This unabashed account
not only speaks about one family’s tragedy, but also critiques the social and
personal attitudes toward our bodies and appearance that create victims like Andrea.
Andrea's poetry and journal entries, combined with her mother's reflections, offer
insight and understanding about a crushing disorder that afflicts far too many
young people.
The
Diet/Binge/Purge Cycles - by Judy Lightstone - Let’s start by defining
compulsive eating as any eating out of relation to physiological hunger and satiation.
This means that anytime one eats for reasons other than hunger or ...
Bulimia
Eating Disorder - by Michael Rad - Eating disorders might seem a negligible
factor in their early stages, but they can develop over time and produce numerous
negative effects to our bodies ...
Why
Binges Take Place - by Karen Sessions - Being a former victim of an
eating disorder I understand the fear of eating, the sudden binges and the feeling
of being completely out of control and lonely.
How
a Person Becomes Bulimic? - by Michael Sanford - Generally, there is
no easy answer why people become bulimic. Reality is that every individual is
unique so are the reasons why they become bulimic and the paths they have ...
Understanding Bulimia - by Thomas
Morva - Bulimia is not exclusively caused by the changes of puberty, nor is
it exclusive to women. Although 90 percent of bulimia cases occur in women, and
most of these women begin ...
Bulimia Nervosa
- symptoms, causes, and recovery - by Abigail H. Natenshon - What is
a bulimic binge? What causes bulimia? What are the symptoms of bulimia? How easy
is it to recognize bulimia? Who suffers from bulimia? Do people recover from bulimia?
Dieting
to Death - by Cass Hope - It has been 15 years since I was diagnosed
with Bulimia Nervosa and I have been recovered for 12 years. To this day if I
head for the washroom after a meal my mother ...
Main
Causes of Bulimia - by Thomas Morva - Bulimia may be caused by a genetic
component. Certain genes may predispose a person to developing bulimia. Bulimia
appears to run in families—people with relatives ...
What
are the Symptoms of Bulimia? - by Thomas Morva - Bulimia is identified
by two characteristic behaviors: bingeing and purging. The person with bulimia
then purges him or herself by inducing vomiting, excessively ...
The
Effects of Bulimia - by Thomas Morva - One of the most marked effects
of bulimia is on the teeth and mouth. Frequent vomiting brings up stomach acid
into the mouth, eroding teeth’s enamel. Cavities and gum ...
The
Battle of Bulimia - by Anne Wolski - In a world where a person's worth
tends to be measured by appearance, it is little wonder that we have so many young
women falling into the trap of eating disorders. This obsession with achieving..
Bulimia Treatment: Advice and Options
- by Thomas Morva - Bulimia is completely treatable. The sooner a person
begins bulimia treatment, the sooner the recovery. Successful recovery depends
on the work of psychiatrists ...
The
Bulimia Recovery Process - by Thomas Morva - Support groups for Bulimia
have become a crucial step in bulimia recovery. Local support groups can be found
online, in the phonebook, or through a mental health ...
The
Harmful Emergence of Pro-Bulimia Attitudes - by Thomas Morva - Pro-bulimia
and pro-anorexia groups reside on the Internet. Web sites and message boards run
by mostly teenage girls are devoted to “Ana,” short for “anorexia,” and “Mia,”
...
Ana-Mia and the Mature Woman - by
Jeannine Schenewerk - Young women are not the only ones who may succumb
to eating disorders. Anorexia and Bulimia are stretching out skeletal hands for
the lives of mature women, as well.
The
Link Between Anorexia and Bulimia - by Thomas Morva - Young women
and men sometimes starve themselves. It doesn’t matter how thin they may be— in
their internal mirror, they are fat. Or they may so afraid of gaining ...
Silent
Screams is a collection of poems at the core of Lori Henry's journey in recovering
from bulimia. From her desparate lows to her ecstatic highs, one can always relate
to the troubled heart.
For more information on 'Silent Screams',
please click
here.
For more information on Lori Henry, please click
here.
