Bulimia

Bulimia nervosa is characterized by cycles of bingeing and purging. As with anorexia, this behaviour is driven by a desire to regulate feelings, with worries about body weight and shape. The cycle begins with the person rapidly eating large amounts of food in a single sitting. The eating feels automatic and helpless. Initially this may numb uncomfortable feelings, like anger or sadness, but it also creates physical discomfort and anxiety about weight gain. As a consequence, the person tries to rid the body of the food by vomiting, using laxatives, enemas or diuretics, exercising excessively, skipping meals or dieting.These purging behaviours don't achieve the desired goals - to feel more physically comfortable and not gain weight. Instead, they are very harmful to health.

Symptoms of bulimia nervosa include:

• Repeated episodes of bingeing and purging.
• Feeling out of control while eating.
• Vomiting, using laxatives, diet pills or diuretics, exercising excessively, and skipping meals to rid the body of food.
• Frequent dieting.
• Using body weight and shape as the main measure of one's self-worth.

People with bulimia may well have a weight that is regarded as "normal". People may also develop a Binge Eating Disorder (BED).

Individuals with binge eating disorders eat excessive amounts of food at one time. They do this for two reasons:

• They are very hungry because they have been dieting or restricting their eating in some way. The binge is a response to that hunger.
• They over-eat to comfort themselves, to avoid uncomfortable situations, or to numb their feelings. The binge is an attempt to soothe themselves emotionally.

People who binge-eat are often ashamed and embarrassed. They also tend to be genetically heavier and larger than the "average" person. They do not, however, generally try to compensate for their over-eating by vomiting, fasting, over-exercising or abusing laxatives as people with anorexia or bulimia may do.

Symptoms of binge eating disorder include:

• Eating large amounts of food frequently and in one sitting.
• Feeling out of control and unable to stop eating.
• Eating quickly and in secret.
• Feeling uncomfortably full after eating.
• Feeling guilty and ashamed of their binges.
• In addition, people who binge eat may have a history of diet failures, and may also be obese. About one in five obese people engage in binge eating.

Excerpts from National Eating Disorders Information Centre www.nedic.ca