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Dieting to Death
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
feels the panic start to well up inside of her. Her first
reaction to the news that her daughter was bulimic, like so
many other mothers, was shock. This had been going on for
7 years and she never knew and she just couldn’t understand
why.
Bulimia and Anorexia are eating disorders that
affect girls primarily in their teens (but can start as young
as 10 years old) to their early twenties. Although it is mostly
girls that are affected approximately 10% are boys and this
number continues to increase. Bulimia is the reoccurrence
of binging and then purging. Binging is when a larger than
normal amount of food is eaten in one sitting. It is like
there is a total loss of control and a young girl can consume
3 times that of a grown man. Purging is when vomiting is self-induced
after eating and often, excessive amounts of laxatives are
used. Girls who are bulimic become very good at hiding it
from everyone even their families, primarily by saving the
binging and purging till alone. To people with bulimia their
physical appearance has become the determining factor as to
their worth as a person. The ability to binge and purge gives
control to girls that have somewhere along the way lost it
in their lives.
So as parents what should you look for? An abnormal
occupation with weight, which will in turn lead to your daughter
being preoccupied with dieting. With some bulimics there will
not be a drastic weight loss, as with anorexia, however this
is not always true. In the case of obesity it is unfortunately
usually undetectable. I know that the clothes in my closet
ranged in size from 5 to 12. If you have an 11 year old girl
who says she needs to go on a diet, that is a good sign that
there is trouble. Dieting can be the most dangerous enemy
that your daughter ever faces.
If she decides to become a vegetarian but also
gives up cake and cookie or eliminates dairy from her diet
but also eliminates all high calorie foods; if she starts
to constantly make excuses as to why she can’t eat, like she
is running late or ate with a friend; if she also starts to
withdraw and seems depressed a lot of the time and spends
more and more time alone. These are all very strong signs
of an eating disorder.
The one thing that parents need to realize is
that this is not something that will just go away or that
they’ll grow out of. It is a serious problem that can result
in a variety of medical problems and even death. If you see
some of these behaviors in your child, you need to seek professional
help for her. If you start attacking your child they will
become defensive and the situation can worsen. There is help
available and treatments such as antidepressants are proving
very successful. The first step is realizing there is a problem
and then the most important step is getting help. I am living
proof that there is life after bulimia.
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About the Author:
Cass Hope is a registered massage therapist who has studied
and counseled in nutrition. Cass regularly contributes to
online and offline publications dealing with weight loss and
nutrition. She is currently sponsoring this site: http://www.naturalsuccess.info
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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