Bulimia: symptoms, causes, treatment
In pursuit of slimness, many girls often turn off the “brakes”. And instead of a beautiful figure, they end up with serious health problems. Such as metabolic disorders, gastrointestinal diseases, bulimia and even anorexia. The topic of this article is bulimia. What kind of attack is this, how to recognize it and how to treat it.
Causes of bulimia
Bulimia is a neuropsychiatric disorder. A person suffering from this disease is prone to uncontrollable gluttony, after which “repentance” sets in. At such moments, the patient begins to artificially induce vomiting or take a laxative to cleanse the body of what has been eaten. In between eating food and cleansing the body, a person is busy counting calories and looking for opportunities to deceive his stomach.
This disease is characterized by an exaggerated feeling of hunger, up to nausea and pain in the stomach and the absence, or serious disruptions, in the satiety mechanism.
The following reasons can cause bulimia:
- disorders and disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system, for example, the consequences of a head injury or epilepsy;
- mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, obsessive neurosis.
Bulimia is a form of obsession with food. The disease began to be perceived as an eating disorder only in the 20th century; before that it was considered a purely psychological disease.
Bulemics are characterized by gluttony during stressful situations. That is, food is perceived as an opportunity to receive positive emotions. Over time, a person gets carried away by this pursuit of the release of endorphins and begins to absorb more and more food, spending more time at the table. As a result, eating loses the essence of enjoying the taste and is reduced to a banal filling of the stomach. The blood supply to the body is maximally concentrated on the work of the digestive organs, and the nervous system is suppressed.
Bulimia: symptoms
Psychological signs of this disease:
- Low self-esteem, excessive criticism of one's appearance and actions.
- Spontaneously occurring depression.
- Constant need for praise.
- Constant dissatisfaction with your appearance, specifically your weight.
- Haste in eating, swallowing food in chunks.
- Secrecy, isolation.
A disorder of the nervous system leads to the failure of all vital processes. Especially digestive.
External clinical signs of the disease:
- Dental problems. Due to frequent vomiting, tooth enamel begins to deteriorate. This is due to constant interaction with acidic gastric juice.
- Constant dehydration of the body. Deterioration of the condition of skin, hair, nails.
- Frequent throat diseases - sore throat, pharyngitis.
- Increased salivation.
- Regular intestinal upset. Caused by constant use of laxatives.
- Constant malaise, weakness.
- Lack of salts and trace elements, which manifests itself as constant cramps and muscle spasms.
- Violation female cycle.
- Sometimes there is internal bleeding.
- Weight jumps and fluctuations can reach 10-13 kg.
The patient is unable to give himself an adequate assessment. He does not believe that this is a disease and he needs medical help. Take a closer look at your family and friends - does anyone have a combination of symptoms?
Bulimia: treatment
As soon as you notice signs of bulimia in yourself or someone you know, immediately contact a specialist. The advanced form of the disease is more difficult to treat than the initial form. At the initial stage of therapy, the doctor is obliged to collect the patient’s medical history. Feel free to tell your doctor about your eating habits and whether you play sports. For quality treatment you need to recognize and eradicate the real reason illness.
At the second stage of treatment, the doctor must:
- Prescribe strict diet. Explain which foods are best avoided and which ones to lean on.
- Prescribe antidepressants.
- Suggest group therapy methods.
- It is mandatory to prescribe medications that selectively block the release of serotonin in the brain.
- Preparations and traditional medicine that improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. For example, mint tea.
- One session of therapy for this disease will not be enough. Be prepared for long-term contact with a specialist and subsequent visits to monitor relapse.
Please note that advanced bulimia causes serious harm to the body. Systems and organs begin to malfunction or fail altogether. There are cases where a person suffering from this disease died from a ruptured heart or stomach.
Indications for hospitalization:
- exhaustion of the body or the occurrence of diseases that threaten the patient’s life;
- launched depression, thoughts of suicide;
- dehydration, vitamin deficiency.
How to treat bulimia yourself
To independently solve this problem, the patient needs to understand the following things:
- Avoiding food will not solve your weight problem.
- To achieve the desired weight, you will have to go on a balanced diet, turn to proper nutrition and be sure to visit the gym.
- Do not expect an immediate effect, the result appears gradually and only with the right diet.
- Learn to cope with stress without food.
- Take a course of sedatives.
- Turn to meditation to achieve mental peace.
- Start visiting crowded places, learn to get positive emotions from life.
- Completely avoid fast food, fatty and salty.
- You shouldn’t completely deny yourself the desire to eat sweets; it’s important to control what you eat.
- Switch to fractional meals - portions are reduced and the number of meals is increased.
- Learn to love yourself and your body.
- Don’t blame yourself for the breakdown; Moscow wasn’t built right away.
