Bulimia Recovery & Self Help

 

What do you see when you look in the mirror?  If you are like the majority of preteen, teen, and young adult females, you do not like what you see.  Some would say this is due to the bombardment of super thin models gracing the covers of today’s popular magazines and society’s commercial portrayal of what beauty should look like.

And while most are strong enough to accept themselves as they are and learn to love their bodies, there are a number of young ladies who feel a strong desire to live up to society’s stereotypical few of perfection.  These young ladies will binge and purge, in other words, they will consume mass quantities of food usually in private and then vomit to empty their stomachs.  Otherwise known as Bulimia, this constant binging and purging causes weakness, muscle cramps, hair loss, and enamel erosion of the teeth.  Bulimia is one of the most common eating disorders in the nation, but recovering from bulimia is possible.

Is there a “cure”?

Recovering from bulimia is possible with a number of treatment strategies.  However, the majority of those who suffer from bulimia rarely seek treatment due to the shame they feel.  Multi-faceted treatment programs for recovering from bulimia include the following:

v  Group therapy

v  Individual psychotherapy

v  Prescription of depression medications

v  Inpatient treatment programs

v  12 step programs

As with a number of disorders or addictions, it is common for individuals to relapse and find they are starting over with treatment.  Recovering from bulimia requires honest work on the part of the patient to overcome this disorder.

What are the dangers of bulimia?

Failing to “cure” bulimia can have long term consequences such as:

v  Esophagus damage

v  Irregular heartbeat or heart attacks

v  Bowel irregularity including constipation

v  Dental issues including tooth loss

Left untreated, bulimia can also lead to death, but it does not have to.  Having a strong support team and help from friends and family can help you in your recovery.  If your symptoms are extreme or you have been bulimic for years, your best bet of recovering from bulimia is an inpatient treatment program.  Over the last few years, a number of treatment facilities have opened just for the treatment of eating disorders.  Inpatient programs work on the whole person with psychotherapy and group treatments as well as helping patient’s change their attitudes about their relationship with food.  Treatment as an inpatient is 24/7, where those in the program are under constant supervision and given direction to make the best choices.  These programs usually last several weeks or months and do provide outpatient assistance to resident’s once they complete the program.

So if you are suffering from bulimia, today is the day to get help, do not wait any longer.  The damages to your body from bulimia are accumulative and some will reverse once treatment is received.  There is no better time than the present.

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Bulimia nervosa is quite an unusual and very unpredictable disease. In this article we have decided to point out some interesting facts that have been gathered about bulimia, its sufferers’ groups, some statistics, etc. So whether you are struggling to overcome bulimia on your own or you are in search of some information to help your loved one or person you care about, the following are some scientific facts about bulimia nervosa that are worth being taken into account when looking for treatment.

1. Only 10% of all diagnosed people suffering from bulimia are men. However in reality the number of men suffering from bulimia is much higher if taking into account all unreported cases, it is still pretty obvious that bulimia occurs in women 9 times more often than in men.
2. Restored eating habits with adequate levels of calories gives not only nutrition benefits to the organism, but also helps overcome and sometimes become completely free from depression, self-esteem and all other psychological symptoms and side effects of the illness.
3. Psychosocial therapy is not applicable for all cases to use for treatment. While it is considered to be one of the most effective ways to treat bulimia nervosa, antidepressants may be still much more effective when battling against the sickness. Consult your local health care specialist for more information.
4. While bulimia is a disease closely related to food and overeating, there rarely occur any cases when bulimics suffer from excessive weight. All patients are usually of normal weight with no declinations, however bulimics tend to think their weight is not okay (while it is) and this is one of the symptoms of psychiatric disorder coming along with bulimia nervosa.
5. Bulimia nervosa is absolutely curable and there is a chance you can recover from it regardless to the time you have been suffering from it.
6. On average from 1.4% to 4.2% women in the world suffered from bulimia at least once in their lives.
7. Occurrence of cases has tripled since 1993 till nowadays with women from 10 to 39 years old.
8. 14% of diagnosed men were gay men.
9. Death rate associated with bulimia nervosa is around 3.9%.
10. Only 6 out of 100 people sick on bulimia ask for medical attention.

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Treatment of bulimia is specific for each patient and is very critical and this way when choosing a treatment provider you are advised to check their competence and experience in treating eating disorders. As of today, there are only two ways of treatment authorized by U.S. regulations and World Health Organization. They are pharmacological and psychosocial treatments.
Psychosocial treatment includes cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) and family based therapy (FBT). They are applied separately and some of them are more or less effective to each patient. Cognitive behavioral therapy includes teaching patients to face automatic thoughts and build up defense against their influence on actions. For example, teaching them to recognize “forbidden” meals and ingredients. Different studies suggest that cognitive behavioral therapy is the most effective and shortest therapy among all three. However some researches say that interpersonal psychotherapy can be as effective as cognitive behavioral one, however it takes more time to take effect. Patients treated with cognitive behavioral therapy are told to keep records of all food they consume and periods between each vomit attack with the aim to locate and avoid emotional ups and downs. Recent surveys state that up to 60% of patients using cognitive behavioral therapy get rid of symptoms in the end. Therapy would only work however if all parties would work together to discuss, identify and invent strategies as people would think of options and alternatives if you make them aware of their problems. Family based treatment method is effective for underage people and within first three years since illness has been identified. It is very similar to cognitive behavioral therapy, however it is not conducted in groups, but is done on individual basis within the family circle.
Some of the scientists though argue that treatment with medication, such as different antidepressants, fluoxetine, lithium carbonate and others, is way more effective than just psychosocial treatment. There were used various medications such as naltrexone that are usually used to overcome gambling addiction and they were reported to be successful. Since bulimia nervosa is some sort of addiction disorder too, some medication such as topiramate (fights addiction against cocaine, alcohol and food) facilitated treatment of bulimia as well. For each case you need to consult your local health specialist to define whether you will be better treated with psychosocial or pharmacological method.

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There are various symptoms bulimia nervosa can be identified by. They are always described by sudden and uncontrolled food consumption which is stopped either by intervention of another person or stomach pain as a result of over-extension causing vomiting or purging. Bulimia sufferers usually experience this kind of cycle two to three times a week, however in severe cases the frequency can shoot up to several times a day.

If you suspect that someone you care about has got bulimia, there are a few signs that will indicate that that person requires medical attention. Bulimia usually occurs with people from 13 to 20 years old, however in many cases it can transfer to adulthood with episodic uncontrolled eating and purging even after a treatment that was successive temporarily curing the sufferer from the disease. Different studies show that after more than ten years of diagnosis, only half of patients will be cured fully, a third – partially, and ten to twenty percent will still be suffering from symptoms.

Here is a short list of signs that may indicate that the person suffers from bulimia:

1. Continuous thinking of calories consumed.
2. Continuous complaining about his/her weight (which should be paid attention to as usually bulimia occurs in people with normal weight).
3. Lowered self-esteem and/or depression.
4. Low blood pressure, irregular menstrual cycle and frequent visits to the bathroom.

As it appears with many mental sicknesses, signs and symptoms of the disease can be accompanied by false beliefs that such kind of illnesses are not ordinarily accepted by other people and this may result in person, that is in need of treatment, would hide his or her illness even knowing that he or she has it. The symptoms are as follows:

• Chronic gastric reflux after eating.
• Dehydration and hypokalemia as a result of vomiting.
• Electrolyte imbalance (potentially followed by cardiac arrhythmia or death).
• Constipation.
• Infertility.
• Scars on back of hands as a result of repeated injuries done by foreteeth and/or injured mouth as a result of frequent fingers insertion.
• Constant weight fluctuations.
• Severe teeth erosion.
• Erosion of tooth enamel

Person suffering from bulimia may also have physical symptoms such as epileptic seizures, arrhythmias and sometimes muscle weaknesses.

 

Bulimia nervosa is a disease characterized by overeating. In other words, it is an eating disorder that can be described by consuming a large amount of food within a short time frame and attempting to get rid of consumed food inside the system via vomiting, taking laxative medication or intensified physical exercising. All this is usually followed by continuous fasting period for longer than usual time frame between regular meals to be consumed.

While bulimia is less dangerous than anorexia, it is several times more spread across the globe and usually occurs in women (in 90-95% of all reported cases). Additionally, the majority of patients are with no weight issues. Practically all cases of bulimia are accompanied by psychiatric disorder with affection on mood, anxiety and emotional instability. Patients who were diagnosed with bulimia nervosa are often emotionally unstable with sometimes impulses of aggressiveness, also including overspending money and unusual sexual behavior. In most cases bulimia occurs in patients that have family histories where substance abuse and mood disorders frequently occurred.

People suffering from bulimia nervosa are more likely to be also suffering from affective disorder or, in other words, continuous depression or general emotional instability. According to Columbia University study on women sick on bulimia it was found that in 70% of cases females suffered from longer than usual depression at least once in their lives and almost 88% of them had any other of affective disorders. Another study conducted by Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, showed that those having bulimia or anorexia were 6 times higher at risk of getting anxiety disorder and 2 times higher at risk of getting dependent on alcohol and suffer from substance abuse. Some of those suffering anorexia showed bulimic tendencies to vomit or take laxatives as a way to quickly remove food from their organisms.

One of the other fields of overall health that bulimia has effect on is dental health. Due to the acid that passes through the mouth area from frequent vomiting acid erosion is caused usually on posterior dental surface. Teeth get yellow and lose their natural white color, however they may be restored with porcelain veneers.

An eating disorder that consists of binge eating and then vomiting afterwards is known as bulimia. This is in contrast to anorexia in which the person refuses to eat anything at all. The bulimic individual is obsessed and preoccupied with food. When on a binge, these individuals do not only eat a lot, they eat quickly and consume huge amounts of calories, which make them feel guilty. They fear weight gain so they begin vomiting the food they just consumed and this begins a vicious cycle.

The actual cause for bulimia or any other eating disorder is unknown but there definitely seems to be an element of wanting to be in control and it can also have an element of body dysphoria, where the person cannot see how thin they truly are. Bulimia is more common in girls and tends to begin as a teenager but can happen in early adulthood.

While bulimia recovery is definitely possible, the individual will have to undergo a bulimia treatment program since typically someone that has been binge eating and vomiting for a long time is actually addicted in some ways to the control they have over the foods they consume and their weight. Therefore, bulimia programs that are often followed up with bulimia self help groups are typically the most successful. Probably the most difficult aspect to treating bulimia is getting the individual to admit they have an eating disorder.

Other treatment options include psychotherapy as this can be quite useful in finding out what may have led to the start of the bulimia in the first place. Cognitive behavioral therapy is useful in order to replace negative behaviors with healthy ones. Family counseling is also recommended since eating disorders affect everyone that loves the bulimic. Many people have been helped with the treatment of a specific antidepressant, Prozac, which has actually been the only antidepressant approved by the FDA for the treatment of bulimia. Prozac often helps people with OCD and since bulimia does have the preoccupation with food that can become obsessive thoughts, many have found the medication useful.

Recovering from bulimia is not an overnight process by any means. Many people have remnants of the disorder that they have to control for months and sometimes years to ensure they do not slip back into the bulimic way.

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If you know anybody who has suffered from bulimia or you yourself have suffered with and in the past, then you know how devastating this condition can be. Not only can bulimia rob you of your happiness, if left untreated, it can rob you of your life as well.

That’s why for those people that are either in the midst of bulimia or know somebody who is, bulimia treatment and Bulimia Recovery is paramount. However, what you may want to consider before starting any sort of eating disorder help program is the merits of the bulimia self-help program and how it actually works.

A good Bulimia Recovery plan is going to touch on a few different issues. The first is going to be affecting a person’s behavioral habits. Addressing these behavioral patterns helps to understand motives behind bulimia and also helps to use counteractive coping skills in order to reduce and eventually eliminate the effects that bulimia has on the person in question.

It’s also important to understand that while addressing behavioral issues sounds easy, in reality it’s going to be very difficult. However, the difficulty is not uncommon and is often necessary in order to break the powerful control that bulimia can have over a person.

Another very way to help a person recover from bulimia is through proper diet. It’s very common to expect that people who deal with the emotional and behavioral issues of bulimia should be able to step right in to a normal habit of eating and a normal diet. Unfortunately, that sort of normality in eating isn’t going to happen right away.

That’s why a good recovery program will also include comprehensive meal plans that are designed for people either dealing with or recovering from bulimia. This diet plan helps you to remain as strong and as healthy as possible regardless of what stage of recovery you happen to be in.

If you or someone you love is in the grips of bulimia, you can’t act too quickly to get the help that is needed. Bulimia can be destructive, but it also can be treated effectively. Finding the right program that offers sound advice and effective treatment is the first step in a person overcoming and eventually putting bulimia behind them for good.

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