Bulimia Nervosa Information

Bulimia nervosa is a serious disorder to the physical as well as mental faculties and occurs due to constant bouts of binging and purging. Bulimia Nervosa first came into definition by Gerald Russell (1979), a British Psychiatrist. Bulimia nervosa is a very common eating disorder but most of the patients and their family members are not aware of the far reaching consequences of this disease.

There are mainly two types of bulimics which can be defined as purging and non purging ones. Binge eating is done by both groups. But when the time comes for either to get the food out of the body, the purging ones do so with the methods such as forced vomiting, using laxatives etc. The non purging ones, on the other hand, take the route of over exercising or fasting excessively to lose the fat they acquired through the binge eating. Either of these methods is very harmful not only to the physical part but also the mental health of the bulimic and constant care should be taken to prevent the further onset of the disorder.

Bulimia is more common with women rather than men. This may be due to the almost obsessive need of most women to be thin like the ones advertised on the television or fashion magazines. So, one of the most vital contributing factors to bulimia nervosa can be the overwhelming media factor to be like a supermodel – thin and skeleton like. But what is even more dangerous is that most youngsters in college ape their friends who are bulimics and are thin and end up being bulimics themselves. Due to the women being the larger percentage that is affected by bulimia nervosa, there can sever complications regarding pregnancy, menstrual cycles and other related gynecology problems. In case the disorder starts very early at an age, then there may be further complications in the future due to the person having being bulimic in the past. Hence, for the safety and health of oneself as well as the child that you may bear in the future, you should never succumb to bulimia nervosa.

As a family member or friend you can recognize the symptoms of bulimia nervosa in a near and dear one, it’s our responsibility to provide as much support and help as possible and take the affected person to the family doctor as soon as is possible. There no pills which can cure bulimia nervosa. The support, constant feedback and therapeutic treatment can go a long way in solving their problem but what is more important is that the affected person should realize the danger of remaining a bulimic and should take positive steps towards recovery. If the person is willing to be on the recovery path that is a great boost to the process of treatment. So, more and more people should reach out to the bulimics as their support can help guide these patients to the road of recovery and help them to lead a healthy life!