Overcoming Eating Disorders
Stephen Lau
Stephen Lau
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Bulimia, an eating disorder, may concurrently consist of binge eating and self-starvation due to the fear of becoming fat, complemented with purging.
A bulimic often suffers from a distorted mental perception of how an individual may look. To attain or to maintain that look, such individual may resort to purging - getting the excessive food out of the system. The purge is the antidote to the loss of control over food. Vomiting is initially self-induced, such as use of fingers or laxatives, but soon becomes voluntary - simply by tightening the stomach muscle.
After repeated episodes of binge eating and purging, an individual becomes overwhelmed with shame and despair - shame over the purge, and despair over the uncontrollable binge.
Bulimia is a complex mental disorder that requires medical intervention. If left untreated, it could even lead to ultimate fatality.
Symptoms
The following symptoms are quite common among individuals having an eating disorder, but they may not necessarily be bulimic:
· eating secretly
· binge eating
· watching food portions and counting calories due to fear of weight gain
· frequent vomiting after meals
· over focusing on appearance and body shape
· abusing laxatives
· withdrawal from normal social activities
· excessive exercise
Profile and personality
The bulimic personality
A bulimic individual usually has a difficult personality, such as secretive, stubborn, uncooperative, irascible and irritable.
The bulimia profile
Some people more vulnerable to bulimia than others, including the following:
· adolescents and young adults, mostly affluent women in their twenties.
· individuals insecure about self-worth, often depending on others for approval, or too eager to please others
More obvious signs of bulimia
More acute symptoms may follow if a bulimic remains untreated, including:
· cold skin with bluish tinge (anemia)
· dizziness and light-headedness
· pain in sitting (insufficient padding over the bones); back and joint pain
· tingling sensation in hands and feet due to low-potassium level
· bruised knuckles and fingers from sticking fingers down the throat to induce vomiting
· development of body hair (known as lanugo) with loss of hair on the head - the body's natural response to lack of insulation provided body fat
· dental problems: teeth and gums due loss of teeth enamel
· low blood pressure
· abnormal slow heartbeat
· indigestion and severe constipation
· difficulty in swallowing (malfunction of gastrointestinal tract)
· abnormal water retention (inadequate protein)
· hormonal abnormalities (no or irregular menstrual period)
· insomnia
Dangerous signs
The disorder has become out of control when the bulimic shows the following dangerous signs:
· eating uncontrollably, even in public
· excessive purging through dieting, fasting, exercising, vomiting, using diuretics and laxatives
· depression and wide mood swings
· excessive stress from personal, social, and family problems
· heartburn, bloating, and swollen cheeks
Development of bulimia
Bulimia often grips an individual in the transitional period to independence, such as leaving for college, or turning from an adolescent into a young adult.
Stress often sets the groundwork for the development of bulimia.
The bulimic may seek the comfort of food relationship, which becomes abnormal, creating the need for dieting to lose weight or to maintain an ideal body image.
The unhealthy eating need becomes psychological, instead of physical or physiological.
Repeated failures of dieting begin to turn despair into a binge, which is rapid consumption of a large quantity of food. During a binge, all feelings are blocked out.
The aftermath of a binge is guilt, shame, and panic, causing the bulimic to resort to vomiting as a means to purge the body of the excessive food. Purging not only relieves the resultant physical and emotional discomfort but also prevents weight gain, which will expose the inner secret entrapped in the disturbed mind.
Despair and loss of control may plunge an individual into a depression, which only further aggravates the eating disorder
Thus, an endless vicious cycle of binge, purge, and depression is formed.
Confrontation and intervention
Patients suffering from bulimia will deteriorate, if the disorder is left untreated over time.
Sometimes it is difficult to detect bulimia in an individual who looks emaciated. For one thing, a bulimic may mask the physical condition through wearing loose-fitting clothes and abusing laxatives or vomiting in private.
It is critical to confront the bulimic so that medical and professional can be sought. Loved ones and family members should intervene to help the patient.
· Be knowledgeable and arm yourself with facts about bulimia.
· Don’t accuse or criticize; instead be caring, acknowledging the patient’s concern and fear.
· Expect denial, resistance, and even resentment.
· Stand firm and be persistent.
· Don’t procrastinate: time is of essence.
Seek medical and professional help
Look for an eating disorder therapy program, based on the credentials of the staff, their experience, and the components of the program.
The Complete Guide to Free or Affordable Rehab Centers provides useful information to get into affordable rehab - even with no money and no insurance. In the United States, there are more than 1,500 rehab centers that do that just that!
Anorexia-Bulimia
This is an excellent and most inspiring book on eating disorders to date, in particular anorexia and bulimia.
The author’s daughter initially suffered from anorexia and developed into bulimia. She developed a state of the art home treatment program based on the ancient Romans, who were notorious for their gluttony in feasts and their subsequent purging. Her unique individual program worked remarkably well for her daughter.
The problem with most anorexics and bulimics is that they tend to relapse and suffer again even after repeated programs and hospitalizations.
In her book, the author explained how her treatment plan helped her daughter control her eating behavior, instead of depending on group therapy, which sometimes may induce sufferers to prolong their disorders. In particular, she demonstrated how her strategies could control eating disorders with nobody watching - an important factor in relapses.
In addition, the author showed how coping with stress and loneliness holds the key to controlling eating disorders.
Anorexia-Bulimia is a step-by-step individual home treatment program comprises two separate programs, one for adults and the other for teens.
These programs involve no drugs, no medications, no clinics, and no hospital stays.
It is a myth that only doctors and therapists can help people with eating disorders. The truth is that YOU are the best person to rescue your child from eating disorders. Anorexia-Bulimia is specially written for you - the parent!
Copyright©2008 by Stephen Lau
Return from Bulimia to Home Page.
A bulimic often suffers from a distorted mental perception of how an individual may look. To attain or to maintain that look, such individual may resort to purging - getting the excessive food out of the system. The purge is the antidote to the loss of control over food. Vomiting is initially self-induced, such as use of fingers or laxatives, but soon becomes voluntary - simply by tightening the stomach muscle.
After repeated episodes of binge eating and purging, an individual becomes overwhelmed with shame and despair - shame over the purge, and despair over the uncontrollable binge.
Bulimia is a complex mental disorder that requires medical intervention. If left untreated, it could even lead to ultimate fatality.
Symptoms
The following symptoms are quite common among individuals having an eating disorder, but they may not necessarily be bulimic:
· eating secretly
· binge eating
· watching food portions and counting calories due to fear of weight gain
· frequent vomiting after meals
· over focusing on appearance and body shape
· abusing laxatives
· withdrawal from normal social activities
· excessive exercise
Profile and personality
The bulimic personality
A bulimic individual usually has a difficult personality, such as secretive, stubborn, uncooperative, irascible and irritable.
The bulimia profile
Some people more vulnerable to bulimia than others, including the following:
· adolescents and young adults, mostly affluent women in their twenties.
· individuals insecure about self-worth, often depending on others for approval, or too eager to please others
More obvious signs of bulimia
More acute symptoms may follow if a bulimic remains untreated, including:
· cold skin with bluish tinge (anemia)
· dizziness and light-headedness
· pain in sitting (insufficient padding over the bones); back and joint pain
· tingling sensation in hands and feet due to low-potassium level
· bruised knuckles and fingers from sticking fingers down the throat to induce vomiting
· development of body hair (known as lanugo) with loss of hair on the head - the body's natural response to lack of insulation provided body fat
· dental problems: teeth and gums due loss of teeth enamel
· low blood pressure
· abnormal slow heartbeat
· indigestion and severe constipation
· difficulty in swallowing (malfunction of gastrointestinal tract)
· abnormal water retention (inadequate protein)
· hormonal abnormalities (no or irregular menstrual period)
· insomnia
Dangerous signs
The disorder has become out of control when the bulimic shows the following dangerous signs:
· eating uncontrollably, even in public
· excessive purging through dieting, fasting, exercising, vomiting, using diuretics and laxatives
· depression and wide mood swings
· excessive stress from personal, social, and family problems
· heartburn, bloating, and swollen cheeks
Development of bulimia
Bulimia often grips an individual in the transitional period to independence, such as leaving for college, or turning from an adolescent into a young adult.
Stress often sets the groundwork for the development of bulimia.
The bulimic may seek the comfort of food relationship, which becomes abnormal, creating the need for dieting to lose weight or to maintain an ideal body image.
The unhealthy eating need becomes psychological, instead of physical or physiological.
Repeated failures of dieting begin to turn despair into a binge, which is rapid consumption of a large quantity of food. During a binge, all feelings are blocked out.
The aftermath of a binge is guilt, shame, and panic, causing the bulimic to resort to vomiting as a means to purge the body of the excessive food. Purging not only relieves the resultant physical and emotional discomfort but also prevents weight gain, which will expose the inner secret entrapped in the disturbed mind.
Despair and loss of control may plunge an individual into a depression, which only further aggravates the eating disorder
Thus, an endless vicious cycle of binge, purge, and depression is formed.
Confrontation and intervention
Patients suffering from bulimia will deteriorate, if the disorder is left untreated over time.
Sometimes it is difficult to detect bulimia in an individual who looks emaciated. For one thing, a bulimic may mask the physical condition through wearing loose-fitting clothes and abusing laxatives or vomiting in private.
It is critical to confront the bulimic so that medical and professional can be sought. Loved ones and family members should intervene to help the patient.
· Be knowledgeable and arm yourself with facts about bulimia.
· Don’t accuse or criticize; instead be caring, acknowledging the patient’s concern and fear.
· Expect denial, resistance, and even resentment.
· Stand firm and be persistent.
· Don’t procrastinate: time is of essence.
Seek medical and professional help
Look for an eating disorder therapy program, based on the credentials of the staff, their experience, and the components of the program.
The Complete Guide to Free or Affordable Rehab Centers provides useful information to get into affordable rehab - even with no money and no insurance. In the United States, there are more than 1,500 rehab centers that do that just that!
Anorexia-Bulimia
This is an excellent and most inspiring book on eating disorders to date, in particular anorexia and bulimia.
The author’s daughter initially suffered from anorexia and developed into bulimia. She developed a state of the art home treatment program based on the ancient Romans, who were notorious for their gluttony in feasts and their subsequent purging. Her unique individual program worked remarkably well for her daughter.
The problem with most anorexics and bulimics is that they tend to relapse and suffer again even after repeated programs and hospitalizations.
In her book, the author explained how her treatment plan helped her daughter control her eating behavior, instead of depending on group therapy, which sometimes may induce sufferers to prolong their disorders. In particular, she demonstrated how her strategies could control eating disorders with nobody watching - an important factor in relapses.
In addition, the author showed how coping with stress and loneliness holds the key to controlling eating disorders.
Anorexia-Bulimia is a step-by-step individual home treatment program comprises two separate programs, one for adults and the other for teens.
These programs involve no drugs, no medications, no clinics, and no hospital stays.
It is a myth that only doctors and therapists can help people with eating disorders. The truth is that YOU are the best person to rescue your child from eating disorders. Anorexia-Bulimia is specially written for you - the parent!
Copyright©2008 by Stephen Lau
Return from Bulimia to Home Page.