According to medical statistics, most often bulimia is diagnosed in females in the age category up to thirty-five years. It is also found in the strong half of humanity. Eating disorders in men are more complicated and more difficult to treat. An individual with this pathology is constantly pursued by such obsessions as losing weight and eating. What kind of disease is bulimia and how to deal with it, we will consider in this article.
Reasons
Often, the starting point is a child's psychological trauma (lack of nutrition, as well as attention from parents), which provokes a malfunction of the functions of the food center located in the brain.
In adolescence, poor relationships with peers can contribute to the onset of the disease. In addition, practicing doctors note that the risk of developing the disease increases when children are rewarded with food for good academic performance. In this case, the child develops an incorrect idea about the sourcepositive emotions.
Other causes of bulimia should be noted:
- Striving for the ideal appearance of the model;
- genetic predisposition;
- stress situations;
- low self-esteem due to far-fetched flaws in appearance;
- constant anxiety;
- nutrient deficiencies caused by strict diets;
- and others.
Features of pathology
Bulimik is in a vicious circle, i.e. constantly exposed to stress. From time to time there is a breakdown, i.e., there is a need to absorb a huge amount of food. During this period, the patient experiences true pleasure (euphoria), which is replaced by a feeling of guilt. A stressful state reappears, the individual stops eating. People with bulimia experience a sense of shame and hide from others a large meal, as well as the subsequent release from it by inducing vomiting. Often bulimia is accompanied by severe depression, alcoholism, sexual disorders. According to statistics, approximately fifty percent of patients recover completely, but relapses are still possible. In addition to the correct treatment tactics, the psychological attitude is very important, and the desire of the person himself to get rid of this problem.
Signs of bulimia
The disease can be suspected by the following symptoms:
- Uncontrollable cravings for food, resulting in the individual consuming a large amount of it in a short period of time.
- Taking some actionto prevent obesity, according to the bulimic.
- Cleansing medications, cleansing enemas, artificial vomiting, weight fluctuations, exhausting exercise.
- Frequent talk about excess weight and new diets, proper nutrition.
- Fast weight gain and in a short time to reduce it using radical methods.
- Depression.
- Fatigue.
- Insomnia at night and daytime sleepiness.
- Diseases of the oral cavity caused by inflammatory processes. As a result of frequent vomiting, hydrochloric acid corrodes the oral mucosa.
- Frequent heartburn.
- Regular pharyngitis, tonsillitis.
- Scratches on fingers.
- Burst blood vessels in the eyeballs.
- Impaired bowel movements.
- Failure of the menstrual cycle, the functions of the liver and kidneys, the work of the cardiovascular system.
- Convulsions.
- Unsatisfactory condition of hair and nails.
- The appearance of obsessive thoughts that prevent you from focusing on work or school, as well as leading a fulfilling life.
- Eating large amounts of high-calorie foods, resulting in spasms and pain in the intestinal area.
- The appearance of guilt, remorse. The individual tries to get rid of excess calories and induces vomiting.
In the early stages of the disease, breakdowns are rare and are mainly provoked by stressful situations. On later ones, they happen several times a day.
A few facts about bulimia
Kinorexia, or nervousbulimia, what is this disease? This is a condition in which control over the amount of food consumed is lost, but at the same time there is a desire to maintain the existing weight. In other words, it is an eating disorder that is affected by:
- Public pressure - Experts say young girls' desire to look like models on the cover of fashion magazines provokes them to act rashly, i.e., there is a connection between an eating disorder and glossy beauty standards.
- Obsession - bulimics have a constant desire to eat more and immediately get rid of food or have a perfect figure. Often such patients secretly consume alcohol-containing drinks and feel guilty about this. The surest sign of this pathology is obsession in aspirations, which helps doctors to identify it.
- Mental disorder - due to the inability to control behavior, bulimia causes feelings of shame, which results in depression. In other words, this disease is a rather serious mental disorder.
- Genetic predisposition - this fact has not been unambiguously confirmed. However, there is an opinion that heredity is one of the causes of bulimia.
Diagnosis of disease
Anamnesis is collected to establish a diagnosis. A psychotherapist or psychiatrist conducts a conversation with the patient, as well as with his relatives. In some cases, psychodiagnostic specific tests are used. Conduct and differential diagnosis. Bulimia, whatthis is a disease, the symptoms of which result in the following picture:
- Repeated episodes of overeating for three to four months.
- Continuous search for new diets to lose weight.
- Thoughts about food that constantly haunt.
- Frequent artificial vomiting.
- Quite low self-esteem.
The doctor pays special attention to the above signs during the examination. Uncontrolled consumption of large amounts of food, an example of such absorption is shown in the photo, this is bulimia. What lies behind such a state?
An individual, eating a huge amount of food very quickly, does not enjoy food, and does not feel full. He prefers to do this alone. After the meal, he begins to be tormented by a sense of shame. The peculiarities of the disease are that seizures, or in other words they are called breakdowns, are a specific reaction to various emotions, for example, stress, sadness. Overeating in such patients is not considered a spontaneous reaction, but rather, it is a planned action. Bulimics compensate for their overeating in the following ways:
- taking laxatives;
- exhausting workouts;
- artificially induced vomiting.
If periodic overeating, recurrent compensatory behavior and neurotic experiences are confirmed, then the physician diagnoses bulimia.
Negative Consequences
What kind of disease is bulimia, complicationswhich is very serious, since with this ailment, normal metabolism fails and the body suffers great harm, which provokes:
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
- irregular periods;
- anemia;
- fainting;
- severe dryness of the skin;
- kidney failure;
- dehydration;
- swelling of the submandibular salivary glands;
- rupture of the esophagus;
- damage to tooth enamel;
- ulcerative lesions of the tongue;
- severe depression;
- heart rate failure;
- high risk of osteoporosis;
- hypokalemia;
- hypotension;
- infertility;
- hemorrhoids;
- obesity;
- cancer of the esophagus and larynx;
- suicide attempts.
Thus, an eating disorder is fraught with dangerous complications. With episodes of bulimia during the period of bearing a baby, there is a risk of congenital anomalies of the fetus, diabetes, miscarriage or stillbirth. Bulimics, hiding their illness, move away from relatives and friends, thereby aggravating their condition.
Recommendations
Before you start self-treatment of bulimia, you should eliminate the cause of its occurrence. If it lies in the desire to lose weight, then be sure to review the diet. It is important to remember that this problem cannot be solved by refusing food, an integrated approach is needed. For a successful cure at home, you need to control your appetite, and the following tips will help in this:
- When an attack occurs, drink a glass of water, thiswill dull the feeling of hunger, and then, you are allowed to eat something.
- Use a decoction of peppermint before meals (one hundred milliliters three times a day).
- Twenty milliliters of infusion of parsley with chamomile to drink before going to bed.
- Taking fifty milliliters of flaxseed and wormwood decoction thirty minutes before meals will dull the feeling of hunger.
Decoctions and infusions are prepared in the following proportion: 20 grams of medicinal plant materials are taken for 300 ml of boiling water.
In cases where bulimia is caused by a mental disorder, other treatment is indicated, such as meditation.
If the disease is caused by addiction to food, then the individual should show restraint in order to adhere to a strict daily regimen and diet. Eat small meals.
In addition, we must learn to relax, regularly give the body physical activity. It is advisable to use different methods and believe in success, only in this case you can be completely cured.
Bulimia - what kind of disease is it and how to treat it?
Translated from Greek, the name of this pathology is translated as "bull hunger". It belongs to the group of eating disorders and belongs to mental illness. She is characterized by frequent bouts of copious overeating and further, the forced withdrawal of what she has eaten.
Treatment is provided by doctors who specialize in psychiatry, as well as psychotherapists. Therapy is carried out both in inpatient and outpatient settings. For example, if the cause of bulimiabecame severe depression with thoughts of suicide or severe exhaustion and dehydration, then round-the-clock monitoring of the patient in the hospital is required. Women who are expecting a baby should receive therapy in a hospital, as there is a high risk to the life of the baby.
Good results are achieved with an integrated approach, using pharmaco- and psychotherapy. For each patient, treatment is selected individually. In the presence of complications in the patient, specialists in the field of cardiology, gastroenterology, dentistry and others come to the rescue. What is bulimia and how to deal with it? The most effective treatments are psychotherapy:
- Interpersonal - aimed at identifying and resolving the problems that caused the disease. Classes are held both in groups and individually.
- Behavioral - a specialist helps to master the techniques of coping with stress, fixing the right eating habits. With the help of special techniques, the individual reduces anxiety about his own weight, and there is a motivation for proper nutrition.
In addition, doctors recommend taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. According to the mechanism of action, they are similar to antidepressants, that is, they reduce depression and anxiety. They also have a slight anorexigenic effect, reducing appetite and the need for high-calorie foods. As a result of taking these medications, the frequency of overeating is reduced, and therefore vomiting.
Alternative treatments
How to get rid of bulimia using alternative medicine methods?
One of the oldest and most popular ways to restore he alth is bioenergy therapy. Many illnesses in an individual begin with thoughts about them, and with bulimia, a person is constantly worried about increased appetite, and he is also not satisfied with body parameters. With the help of bioenergetics, the body's defenses are activated, and the energy source of the problem is eliminated. This method is used when the classic option fails to defeat the disease.
Acupuncture is considered a new direction and is used as an addition to traditional treatment. As a result of acupuncture sessions, stress disappears, metabolism is restored, appetite returns to normal.
Guilt and shame in bulimia: how to deal with them?
These feelings begin to disturb the individual after the "belly holiday" has been arranged. How to get rid of bulimia? First you need to find out the reason, which resulted in a psycho-emotional disorder that led to uncontrolled overeating. The most common provocative factors are:
- Loneliness - emptiness in personal life, that is, the absence of a loved one or loved one, is filled with food.
- Complexes - in order to cope with insecurity and anxiety, the individual begins to absorb food in large volumes, which helps to forget for a short period.
- Depression, stress - have a negative impact on the emotional state, and in order to drown out the pain, many choose the easiest way - to "seize" them.
After finding out the cause of bulimia, in the reviews of those who managed to cope with this problem, there are the following tips and recommendations:
- To understand yourself - to understand what worries, worries.
- Forget about diets.
- Meet people.
- Eat only in society.
- Walk more often.
- Laugh more.
- Learn to enjoy life.
- Try to understand that food is a boost of energy and pleasure, and not a reason to drown out longing, pain, resentment.
- See a therapist who is familiar with this problem.
- Allow yourself to make mistakes and not judge for them.
- Learn to enjoy things that are inedible, like the smell of flowers.
- A look at overeating with humor.
Only having learned to control eating behavior, the individual begins to enjoy, a new world will open for him - this is the path to a versatile and fulfilling life.
Prevention measures
What kind of disease is bulimia? Its insidiousness is that the signs of the disease return. Unfortunately, only one in ten individuals seek medical help, admitting that he has an eating disorder. In order to cope with this problem, the help of loved ones is needed. To maintain a normal mental state, it is recommended:
- Moderate physical activity. Together with a medical worker, a set of exercises is selected.
- Dancing, yoga, swimming.
- Avoid stresssituations.
- Use meditation techniques.
- Find a passion or hobby.
The main thing is the right attitude to food, which is laid down in the family. The habit of he althy eating is formed from childhood. Food cannot be used as a reward.
Conclusion
After reading the article, you now know what bulimia is. Treatment is, of course, a long and complex process that requires a lot of patience and effort from both the bulimic and his family. According to doctors, its success is directly proportional to the efforts spent and the personal desire of the individual. Seeking help in a timely manner is a chance for a speedy return to normal life.
