Bulimia Nervosa is a serious and life-threatening condition that affects around 0.3% of people in America every year.
It is statistically more prevalent in the country than Anorexia – the deadliest mental health disorder. Bulimia has a lifetime prevalence of around 1-3% in women and 0.1% in men. Not just that, as per research by the University of Minnesota Medical School, bulimia nervosa has a mortality rate of 4%, including an increased risk of suicide.
If it does not result in death, bulimia can have a long-term impact on your mental and physical health, leading to the onset of depression, heart complications, and esophageal cancer.
This is why early diagnosis and treatment are the best ways to stop and possibly reverse the damage perpetuated by the condition. However, due to a lack of proper discussion around eating disorder treatments, there are uncountable misconceptions and myths regarding what is bulimia and what its recovery looks like. This creates unwanted barriers in the way of bulimia treatment and restricts people from asking for help.
Bulimia nervosa thrives on silence, misconceptions, and isolation. Helping people understand the condition and how it affects lives is imperative for creating a healthy and safe environment for those dealing with it.
To help you get started, here’s a complete guide to understand what is bulimia. We’ll cover the signs and symptoms of the condition along with bulimia diagnosis, causes, and available treatment options.
But before we get started, here’s something important.
Mental health is diverse and complex. They exist on a spectrum, and every individual has their own experiences. Therefore, don’t start diagnosing yourself with the knowledge you get by reading a few articles on the Internet (though we are incredibly grateful to you for stopping by to enhance your understanding of an important topic). If you find this article helpful or resonate with the symptoms explained in it, consider this as the beginning of your journey of getting the right help.
That’s it. Let’s dive in!
What Is Bulimia Nervosa?
Bulimia nervosa is a type of eating disorder characterized by an unhealthy cycle of vomiting and purging. People with bulimia have regular episodes of binge eating, where they consume an unhealthily high amount of food and generally feel a lack of control over their eating habits.
Followed by this binge eating episode, they indulge in unhealthy and downright life-threatening ways to deal with their food intake. These ways include:
- Vomiting or taking laxatives
- Fasting (not eating food)
- Exercising more than normal
While anyone can develop the signs and symptoms of bulimia nervosa, it’s typically more common in women and teenage girls. However, it can affect men and non-binary individuals as well. As per statistics by the National Eating Disorders Association, it’s more prevalent in gay and homosexual males than heterosexual males. Athletes, especially teenagers and college athletes, are also at a higher risk of developing bulimia nervosa symptoms.
Signs and symptoms of bulimia are found across people of all age groups and ethnicities. As per research by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, Hispanic individuals are more likely to be affected by the condition.
What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Bulimia?
It’s easy to spot bulimia nervosa symptoms as the signs aren’t apparent.
There are no defined criteria for who develops eating disorders like bulimia. Some people with the condition might be thin, whereas others can be moderately built or even overweight.
As per the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual (DSM-V), there are two types of bulimia on the basis of the type of purging behavior involved. These are:
1. Purging bulimia: After indulging in binge eating, people affected by this type of bulimia will misuse laxatives and vomit out the excess food. This is the most commonly found type of bulimia.
2. Non-purging bulimia: These individuals avoid purging and indulge in excessive fasting or exercising after a binge-eating episode.
Like all other eating disorders, the signs of bulimia nervosa range from physical to mental and behavioral.
Physical Signs Of Bulimia
Bulimia can cause significant, long-lasting physical implications on the affected individual’s body. These include heavy damage to the organs associated with ingesting and digesting food.
The physical signs and symptoms of bulimia include:
- Swollen jaws
- Cuts on the back of the hand or knuckles
- Tooth decay
- Broken blood vessels in the eyes
- Feeling cold all the time
- Dry skin
- Brittle Nails
- Dizziness
- Hair thinning
Behavioral Signs Of Bulimia
Affected people are extremely invested in hiding their bulimia symptoms from friends and family. Here are the common behavioral and emotional signs and symptoms of bulimia nervosa:
- Going to the bathroom right after eating
- Hiding food in unexpected places
- Frequently dieting
- Excessively using mouthwashes
- Acting irritable or moody
- Overly concerned with their physical appearance
- Skipping social gatherings
- Hiding or stacking laxatives
Over time, the symptoms of bulimia can lead to long-term damage to a person’s body. These complications range from cardiovascular risks to gastric and intestinal problems, and hormone-related issues can be fatal and life-threatening.
What Are The Causes Of Bulimia?
The exact causes of bulimia nervosa are largely unknown. However, just like other mental health conditions, researchers expect a combination of genetic and environmental factors to play a role in the development of the condition. Certain risk factors are associated with a higher chance of developing the condition. These include:
- Dieting and other unhealthy ways to control weight
- Sexual abuse
- Societal pressures to look a certain way
- Low levels of dopamine and serotonin in the brain
- Bodily dissatisfaction
How To Get A Proper Bulimia Diagnosis?
If you’re worried you or someone you love might have bulimia, getting proper professional help is the right way forward.
A healthcare provider will start by asking questions about your health history, including your eating habits and exercise routine. This questionnaire is usually designed keeping in mind the diagnostic criteria mentioned in the DSM-V. To get a proper diagnosis of bulimia, the signs you are exhibiting must be visible for two weeks or more.
Additionally, the doctor might also order blood tests and other checkups. There are two main reasons for this: first, to rule out other conditions that might be causing your symptoms, and second, to see if bulimia has affected your health in any way. Some tests prescribed by your healthcare provider might include blood tests to check for electrolyte imbalances or dehydration and an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) to check your heart health.
What Are The Available Treatments For Bulimia?
The aims of bulimia nervosa treatment are:
- Minimize the risk associated with bulimia symptoms
- Encourage affected individuals to adopt healthy eating behaviors.
- Reduce symptoms associated with other co-occurring conditions.
- Help people become both physically and mentally stronger.
Among all the available options, psychotherapy makes for the best bulimia treatment plan. Multiple types of therapy might be helpful in treating bulimia. These include:
1. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): This is one of the best bulimia therapy. CBT has been found to be helpful for almost all eating disorders. With CBT, individuals understand how to manage their symptoms and fear. A trained mental health professional guides them to avoid unhealthy behaviors and adopt healthy coping mechanisms.
2. Nutrition therapy: In nutrition therapy treatment for bulimia, a licensed dietician helps you:
- Develop healthy meal plans
- Find out what to eat and what to avoid
- Develop an overall healthy relationship with food.
Other goals of nutrition therapy include building a healthy relationship with food, understanding portion control, and maintaining a balanced and nutritious diet.
3. Dialectical-behavioral therapy (DBT): Dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT, wasn’t initially designed for bulimia, but it turns out to be a powerful tool to help people overcome it. This type of therapy helps you accept yourself while also giving you skills to change unhealthy behaviors. DBT is done in both one-on-one sessions and group therapy, and it has been shown to be very effective.
Along with therapy, medications are also given to patients to boost their overall recovery and health. Medications are usually prescribed for co-occurring illnesses. For instance, a person having depression along with bulimia nervosa can be given antidepressants to aid his recovery process.
Conclusion:
Bulimia nervosa is a severe and life-threatening condition that is characterized by a cycle of binge-eating and purging. Early diagnosis and treatment are the best ways to deal with the condition. However, since eating disorders are misrepresented in mainstream media, there’s a lack of understanding about what bulimia really is and how it affects people.
Therefore, disseminating credible information and increasing awareness is the right way to move forward.
While there’s no cure for bulimia, there are several healthy treatment options that can allow you to live a happy and safe life.
If reading this blog post made you feel like you might have bulimia, take a deep breath and calm down. As scary as it feels right now, just remember that millions of people around you struggle with the disorder and get better every day. While the road is complicated and long, proper professional help and self-care are the right way forward.
Access to professional help is now easier than ever. With online therapy, you can experience the comfort of therapy right from your home. To learn more about the top online platforms, click here.
To continue learning about mental health, subscribe to Your Mental Health Pal.