Signs of Bulimia
What is Bulimia?
Bulimia Nervosa (medical and technical name) is one of the three primary eating disorders along with anorexia nervosa and binge eating disorder. It is very similar to the others in many respects with the exception of its binging and purging characteristics. Binging is the over-consumption of food and purging is the forceful ridding of the food you have eaten, usually by self-induced vomiting or abusing diuretics and laxatives. If left untreated, the disorder can easily turn fatal.
What is the disorder’s warning signs?
One thing you need to be aware of is the fact that Bulimia doesn’t always involve purging the food you have consumed. Whenever you compensate for your binging by exercising to excess, fasting, or participating in crash dieting afterwards, this also qualifies as Bulimic behavior. The following will give you an idea as to whether or not you have developed this particular eating disorder:
- Being obsessed with your body shape and weight
- Eating to the point of getting sick or extremely uncomfortable
- Feelings of depression, guilt, or shamed after you have finished eating
- Inducing yourself to vomit after you eat or abusing diuretics, enemas, and/or laxatives in an attempt to control your weight
- The fear of being unable to stop eating once you sit down to a meal
- The obsessive pre-occupation with dieting and food
Although there are a number of other warning signs and symptoms, the six above are the most common ones and are a good indication that you have become Bulimic and should get professional help from a certified eating disorder treatment and recovery facility.
4 steps to being treated and recovering from Bulimia
In order to overcome any eating disorder and totally recover from it so you do not relapse again, you should consider seeking the professional help provided by an eating disorder treatment and recovery center. Although you may feel somewhat ambivalent about this or just be in denial about your condition, eating disorders can turn fatal without the proper medical and psychological attention.
The following four steps are critical to starting the recovery process and eventually overcoming the disorder:
- Admit that you have a problem
- Talk with a family member, loved one, and/or eating disorder specialist to see what they suggest that you do
- Avoid being around those activities, people, and places that act as eating disorder triggers and lead to the binging and purging cycle of Bulimia
- Enroll in an eating disorder treatment and recovery program as soon as you admit to having the condition so that you can be cared for, monitored, and supervised by licensed, skilled professional specialists
For more information regarding an effective eating disorder treatment and recovery program, please contact Harmony Grove at the toll-free phone number listed above.