Bulimia Nervosa refers to a disorder of the mind that causes you to eat large quantities of food at once. You may feel less control over your diet during this type of overeating. You may later resort to incontinence weight-loss strategies like vomiting, starvation and overuse of laxatives.
Let’s now understand Bulimia better.
What are the Risk Factors and Causes of Bulimia?
Mental health issues and distorted reality are the main risk factors for Bulimia. This is also true if you are highly dependent on the media and social norms. Others include:
- Depression.
- Perfectionism.
- Anger issues.
- A traumatic event in the past
- Impulsiveness.
What are the Symptoms Of Bulimia?
The following symptoms may accompany bulimia:
- Obsessive thoughts about your body and weight.
- A large number of foods are being consumed at once.
- To avoid weight gain, you should not eat too much or exercise too often after binge eating.
- Laxatives are a type of medicine that treats constipation. Diuretics are substances that help remove salt from your body. Enemas are used to empty the bowels and prevent weight gain.
- Excessive diet control and the use of herbal dietary supplements to aid weight loss.
What are the Long-Term Effects Of Bulimia?
The body was designed to eat food and absorb nutrients. It also needs to eliminate unnecessary nutrients. It is therefore not surprising that bulimia-nervosa behavior can have long-lasting effects on the body’s physical functioning, including:
-
Digestive problems.
- Arrhythmia/cardiovascular problems/heart attack or heart failure.
- Cardiomyopathy (enlargement and enlargement of the heart).
- Coronary artery disease is the buildup of plaque in the blood vessels.
- Periodontal disease is an infection and inflammation of the gums that can lead to tooth decay.
- Mental disorders like anxiety, depression and substance abuse disorders are all part of the mental health problem.
- Dehydration.
- Suicidal thoughts are on the rise.
- Menstrual irregularities
- Problems when getting pregnant
How do you diagnose Bulimia?
To be diagnosed with Bulimia, you must meet these criteria:
- It is possible to feel like you cannot control your thoughts and can’t stop eating.
- To prevent weight gain, you can use inappropriate behavior (also called “compensatory behavior”)
- For three months, bulimia-nervosa, as well as compensatory behavior, are common at least once per week.
Self-Care For Bulimia
Treatment for Bulimia can include psychological counseling and medication such as antidepressants. These are some things you can do to take care of yourself and follow your treatment plan.
- Take good care of your body. A healthy diet and regular exercise can help you maintain your weight.
- Get connected with others: Support from family and friends is essential for any mental illness. Talking to someone can be very helpful.
- Avoid triggers and understand the causes of anxiety about your weight.
If left untreated, Bulimia could be dangerous. It would help if you learned to recognize your eating habits and not stress too much about your weight. Seek help from a professional if you are having trouble controlling your emotions about eating.
