Understanding Eating Disorders: Bulimia Nervosa

There is one eating disorder that is known for its viscous ups and downs, and its psychically and psychologically exhausting cycle. Bulimia Nervosa, "is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder, characterized by a cycle of bingeing and compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting, designed to undo or compensate for the the binge eating." (Bulimia). Bulimics may misuse laxatives and diuretics, as well as throw up their food. There is non-purging bulimia as well. In non-purging bulimia the person may use other methods to rid themselves of calories, including fasting, strict dieting and excessive exercise. (MayoClinic). As someone who is currently in my first couple years of recovery, I have felt the the reality of this cycle, and know very intimately what its like to fall victim to it.

My diet started out with normal intentions, to lose a few pounds to feel better about myself. Before I knew it, I was on a repetitive and exhausting cycle, usually starting with a strict diet, that I vowed to myself to stay on, it was usually unrealistic with very little food and a ridiculous amount of exercise. Eventually, something would happen to throw me off my plan, a simple slip on my diet quickly would quickly turn into a uncontrollable binge. My purge was sometimes throwing up, but mostly I would make up for my binges by even stricter dieting or fasting, exercising for hours on end or taking diuretics and large amounts of caffeine to rid myself of water weight. This cycle could be over the duration of a day or even a full week, but I never failed to find myself back at the beginning of it again.

In my case, my eating disorder stemmed out of pure self-hatred, moving from state to state multiple times before I was fifteen and dealing with several mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder since i was a child, the idea of dieting was very soothing to me as I became a teenager. My weight was something i had pure control of. This isn't uncommon at all, people with psychological disorders and emotional problems are more vulnerable to developing eating disorders. Being female, biology, media and societal pressure, sports, work and artistic pressures can all have the potential to put you at risk for bulimia.(MayoClinic)

Bulimia nervosa effects up to as much as 1.5% of
American women, nearly half of these patients have

a co-occurring mood disorder and more than half have a co-occurring anxiety disorder. One in ten bulimics face a substance abuse disorder, usually alcoholism. (Hudson).

Bulimia can inflict some extremely dangerous health consequences, personally I experienced heart irregularities, but bingeing and purging has the potential to damage the entire digestive system. The chemical imbalances that purging leaves within your body can effect major organs as well as the heart. Other health consequences include irregular heartbeat, possible rupture of the esophagus from frequent vomiting, tooth decay and chronic irregular bowel movements and constipation due to abuse of laxatives. (Bulimia).