Kenneth A. Finch, Ph.D.

   Licensed Mental Health Counselor

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Bulimia Nervosa

Individuals suffering from Bulimia Nervosa follow a routine of secretive, uncontrolled or binge eating (ingesting an abnormally large amount of food within a set period of time) followed by behaviors to rid the body of food consumed. This includes self - induced vomiting and/or the misuse of laxatives, diet pills, diuretics (water pills), excessive exercise or fasting. Bulimia afflicts approximately 1% - 3% of adolescents in the US with the illness usually beginning in late adolescence or early adult life.¹ As with anorexia nervosa, those with bulimia are overly concerned with food, body weight, and shape. Because many individuals with bulimia 'binge and purge' in secret and maintain normal or above normal body weight, they can often hide the disorder from others for years. Binges can range from once or twice a week to several times a day and can be triggered by a variety of emotions such as depression, boredom, or anger. The illness may be constant or occasional, with periods of remission alternating with recurrences of binge eating.

Individuals with bulimia are often characterized as having a hard time dealing with and controlling impulses, stress, and anxieties. Bulimia nervosa can and often does occur independently of anorexia nervosa, although half of all anorexics develop bulimia.

Complications

Most medical complications attributed to bulimia nervosa result from electrolyte imbalance and repeated purging behaviors. Loss of potassium due to vomiting, for example, damages heart muscle, increasing the risk for cardiac arrest. Repeated vomiting also causes inflammation of the esophagus and possible erosion of tooth enamel as well as damage to the salivary glands. Some individuals with bulimia struggle with addictions such as drugs and alcohol, and compulsive stealing. Like those with anorexia, many people with bulimia suffer from clinical depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and other psychiatric illnesses.

Footnotes

1. American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association, 1994.