Bulimic neurosis: causes, symptoms and treatment

Bulimic neurosis, often called simply bulimia, is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder. People who suffer from this disease, periodically overeat, with excessive zeal to lean on food, and then "cleaned", trying to get rid of excess calories through unhealthy methods. Most often, there are repeated attempts to induce vomiting and excessive exercise in heavy physical exercises. Sometimes patients "cleaned" even after minor snacks or normal portions of food.

Thus, cases of bulimia can be classified into two types:

• Bulimia with "cleansing", implying the forced invocation of vomiting or abuse of laxatives, diuretics or enemas after a binge eating disorder;
• Bulimic neurosis without "cleansing" - in cases where a person tries to get rid of calories and prevent weight gain by fasting, strict diets or overly heavy physical exertion.

However, it should be borne in mind that these two types of disorders are often combined in eating behavior, and therefore getting rid of excess calories by any of these methods can be called "cleansing."

If you suffer from this disease, most likely, you are overly concerned about your weight and body parameters. Perhaps you are severely judging yourself for imaginary flaws in appearance. Since bulimia is associated primarily with self-esteem and only after that with eating, such a disorder is very difficult to overcome. However, effective treatment, as a rule, allows you to feel much better, to acquire healthy eating habits and to eliminate serious complications.

Symptoms

If a patient has bulimic neurosis, the symptoms of the disorder can be expressed as follows:

• Constant reflection on the theme of weight and appearance;
• Endless fear of getting fat;
• The feeling of uncontrolled eating behavior;
• Overeating until the appearance of discomfort or pain;
• Eating much more food during a bout of hunger than at normal times;
• Violent vomiting or excessive physical activity in order to prevent weight gain after eating;
• Abuse of laxatives, diuretic medications or enemas after eating;
• Strict calorie counting or rejection of certain foods between episodes of hunger;
• Excessive use of biologically active food additives or herbal collections intended for weight loss.

Causes

The exact causes of the development of this disease are still being investigated by scientists. Among the factors potentially contributing to the occurrence of eating disorders, biological characteristics, emotional well-being, social criteria and other circumstances are listed.

Risk factors

Too frequent and persistent signal "I want to eat", coming to the brain, indicates a predisposition of a person to an eating disorder. Development of the disorder is facilitated by the following factors:

• Belonging to the female sex. Most often, bulimia is diagnosed in girls and women.
• Age. Usually, the pathology is manifested in girls aged 17-25.
• Biology. If the next of kin of the patient (brothers, sisters, parents or children) are prone to eating disorders, this disorder may also develop in the course of time. Scientists do not deny the possibility of a genetic predisposition to bulimia. In addition, a significant role can play a deficiency of serotonin in the brain. Excess weight in a child or adolescent increases the risk of future pathology.
• Psychological and emotional problems. Emotional instability, including anxiety disorder and low self-esteem, contributes to the increase in the normal signal "I want to eat." A person begins to overeat because of stress, a bad opinion of himself, the presence of food in the fridge, suffering from diets and simply from boredom. In some cases, the situation is aggravated by psychological trauma and severe environmental pollution.
• Pressure from the media. On television and Internet channels, in fashion magazines people constantly see a lot of lean models and actors. The abundance of ideal figures in show business seems to equate harmony with success and popularity. However, it is still unknown whether the media reflects social values or, conversely, the mass media direct public opinion.
• Stress associated with work. Uncontrolled appetite is often observed in professional athletes, actors, dancers and models. Trainers and relatives often inadvertently increase the risk of developing neurosis in their wards, inspiring young athletes to lose weight, maintaining a small weight and reducing portions of food in order to improve the quality of exercise.

Treatment

Bulimic neurosis usually requires a combination of several types of treatment; The combination of psychotherapy with taking antidepressants is considered to be the most effective.

Most often, doctors practice a team approach, when not only the specialist, but also the family members of the patient, as well as the therapist or other attending physician participate in the therapy.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy, or psychological counseling, is a discussion of the disorder and the attendant problems with a professional doctor. According to research, the following types of psychological counseling are characterized by proven effectiveness:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy that allows the patient to independently identify unhealthy, negative beliefs and behaviors and replace them with more favorable opinions and habits;
• Family therapy aimed at targeted intervention of parents in the improper eating behavior of the adolescent child;
• Interpersonal psychotherapy, analyzing complexities in intimate relationships and allowing to improve communication skills and problem solving.

Medicines

Antidepressants can reduce the intensity of manifestations of symptoms such pathology as bulimic neurosis. Treatment is most often carried out in the form of courses of the drug "Prozac", which is a selective inhibitor of serotonin reuptake (SSRIs).

How to cope with the disease yourself

• Always remind yourself how much weight is normal for your body.
• Resist the urge to go on a diet or skip meals, as this can provoke overeating.
• Develop a plan to combat emotional pressure. Eliminate or neutralize sources of stress.
• Find positive role models that will help you increase your self-esteem.
• Take an interesting hobby that can distract you from thoughts of overeating and "cleansing."

Purposeful work on yourself is the best remedy for bulimia, which helps to suppress wolfish hunger and prevent the need to burn excess calories.