The deadly consequences of bulimia are a bitter reality. Signs of an attack of bulimia. Psychological and psychosomatic disorders

Scientists diagnosed signs of bulimia even in kings who lived hundreds of years ago. Despite this, the official diagnosis of bulimia was recognized just over 35 years ago. Bulimia nervosa is a mental disorder in which the patient overeats at almost every meal, but after eating, induces vomiting (using laxatives, exhausting exercise, fasting, or a strict diet) in fear of gaining excess weight. Most often diagnosed in young girls.

All about bulimia

What is bulimia, and what is the peculiarity of this disease? As already mentioned, the disorder is more typical for the fair sex, especially for those who carefully monitor their weight. Often the disease develops as a result of an irresistible desire to lose weight. Alas, the artificial induction of vomiting after eating does not contribute to shedding extra pounds, and some time after the onset of the development of the pathology, the patient gains weight even faster.

The problem with bulimia is that this disease can go unnoticed for a long time both for the patient himself (after all, he believes that keeping fit is a normal desire), and for those around him (who do not notice the change in the patient's behavior). In addition, getting rid of the disease is not easy enough, because it depends on the patient's self-esteem, on his attitude to his appearance, nutrition, etc. Stop overeating and start to control the amount of food consumed is becoming increasingly difficult.

The risk group includes girls from 13 to 35 - 37 years old. The greatest peaks in the manifestation of symptoms are observed at 15-16, 21-24 and 26-28 years.

Bulimia and anorexia: the difference

People who are not familiar with eating disorders often confuse the two diseases, although they have significant differences. How dangerous is each of the pathologies? First of all, exhaustion and other, sometimes irreversible health consequences.

In women with anorexia, the obsessive desire to lose weight is accompanied by tight control over the amount of food consumed and its composition, as well as the amount of physical activity. Patients are afraid to get better, rarely attend noisy events because of the fear of having to eat, tend to hide their figure behind shapeless clothes. Often, such patients have certain rituals associated with nutrition: counting calories, crushing portions (even to very small sizes), preparing food and then throwing it away, and so on.

In patients with anorexia, weight quickly falls, while the consequences for the body can be very deplorable. Girls "lose" the menstrual cycle, often menstruation disappears altogether. Patients constantly feel cold, freeze even in warm weather, their hair falls out, their nails exfoliate and break from a lack of minerals. Often, after these manifestations, after some time, death occurs from exhaustion of the body.

A patient with bulimia behaves completely differently. Nutrition does not “frighten” such patients; total control over the amount of food eaten is unacceptable for them. On the contrary, bulimics constantly think about food, overeat, sometimes even hide food without any need. However, immediately after eating, patients take laxatives or induce vomiting. With bulimia, patients manage to take antidepressants (for example, fluoxetine, well known among anorexics and bulimics) to reduce appetite or lose weight. The diet follows one after the other, but the patient cannot stay on any of them, as he quickly breaks into food.

People with bulimia also suffer from changes in the body, just like anorexics. Bulimics experience constant irritation of the throat mucosa, small capillary hemorrhages on the face, tooth loss, decreased performance, chronic fatigue and muscle pain. Their weight can jump by 5 - 10 kg even for a short period of time. Depression, feelings of depression, self-hatred and guilt develop. The patient unjustifiably severely criticizes himself, but at the same time he needs the approval of society. Anorexia and bulimia have a number of similarities:

• reasons - often both pathologies can cause disapproving words of others about a person’s appearance or his own low self-esteem;
• stages - at first, both anorexia and bulimia go unnoticed by the patient, then gradually pathophysiological processes begin to develop, which can eventually lead to death;
• symptoms and treatment - some similarity of symptoms is associated with the shame of patients in front of themselves and others (unwillingness to eat in public, constant weight control, depression, etc.), while treatment coincides in the need for psychological support for the patient.

Diagnosis of bulimia

Usually, an examination by a qualified psychiatrist is sufficient to make a diagnosis. He not only assesses the mental state of the patient and talks with him about the identified symptoms, but also observes his behavior, tries to detect pathophysiological signs of the disease (skin changes, an increase in the parotid salivary gland, muscle weakness, and others).

The best test for bulimia at home is an adequate assessment of your behavior, attitude towards yourself and your appearance. You can also try to understand if you have some of the above symptoms - overeating, depression, desire to take diet pills or medication to reduce appetite.

How to treat bulimia

Since it is impossible to “get sick” with bulimia in the usual sense of the word for an ordinary person, the treatment will not be easy. It must necessarily combine psychotherapeutic sessions, taking a certain number of drugs, support from loved ones and, of course, the desire of the patient himself to overcome the disease.

How to fight? You need to start with a consultation with a psychotherapist. Experience shows that patients with bulimia are most often treated on an outpatient basis, although hospitalization in a neuropsychiatric hospital is more effective. Round-the-clock monitoring of bulimics and their support by qualified medical personnel contribute to a speedy recovery. According to the rules, only patients with a significant deterioration in health, comorbidities, a combination of anorexia and bulimia, or weight loss of more than 20% of the original are subject to hospitalization.

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The patient must be prescribed courses of psychotherapy. The doctor helps the patient understand himself, the causes of eating disorders, and also forms his normal ideas about the weight and appearance of a person, ways to achieve success, etc. The psychotherapist supports the ward, helps him to understand the features of rational nutrition.

An important component of treatment will be the support of loved ones. Usually, relatives and friends of the patient, before visiting him in the clinic, consult with the doctor about “what can and cannot be” said, what topics can and cannot be discussed, and how best to set up a bulimic for recovery.

As for the medical method of treatment, it also has its own characteristics. The patient is prescribed drugs not only to get rid of the disorder itself, but also vitamin complexes, immunomodulators and other drugs to maintain health.

Interestingly, the previously mentioned drug fluoxetine is often used in the treatment of bulimia. If we consider this fact from a psychological point of view, then taking the medicine is not advisable. The patient may develop a craving for taking the drug for the sake of losing weight, reducing appetite, etc. For the same reason, fluoxetine is not prescribed for patients who have been diagnosed with two diagnoses at once: anorexia and bulimia.

Bulimia and pregnancy

Despite the fact that patients with eating disorders often have problems with women's health, some of them do become pregnant. Very often, it does not end with the birth of a child due to pathologies of gestation and mental problems of the mother.

During pregnancy in patients with bulimia, in addition to depression - a symptom of the disease, there is also a normal condition for expectant mothers - a change in hormonal levels. Moreover, such "jumps" of hormones can be both positive (sick women manage to cope with the disease and even recover from bulimia on their own), and negative (even more oppression, worries about appearance, etc.).

What does bulimia lead to in the latter case? The consequences are hard to predict. If you do not consult a psychiatrist in time, both a woman and a child or even children (with multiple pregnancies) may experience significant damage to internal organs, there are cases of spontaneous miscarriages. This is due to the use of laxatives and antidepressants, which are contraindicated during childbearing.

Do not hope for a miracle and do not try to find the answer to the question "How to treat bulimia at home?" This is a really serious pathology that requires the intervention of a doctor. If you try to cope with the disease on your own, you can provoke even more overeating, followed by weight gain and a repeated desire to lose everything that was gained. Units manage to get out of the vicious circle, and no one guarantees that you will be lucky to enter their number.

The triggering factor can be various negative experiences, such as failure, failure in something, rejection, rejection by society, loneliness, anger, or vice versa, positive ones, for example, a promotion, a celebration of something, or the prospect of a new relationship with the opposite sex. To alleviate their anxiety, sufferers begin to eat indefinitely, swallowing food without chewing, as quickly as possible. To avoid obesity, and feeling ashamed of their behavior, at the end of the "revelry" they resort to one or another method of cleansing the stomach, artificially inducing vomiting in themselves or taking laxatives and drugs. Others use excessive exercise or intermittent fasting.

People with bulimia are more difficult to identify than those with anorexia or binge eating. they often maintain a normal weight and are outwardly indistinguishable from healthy people.
However, unlike those suffering from anorexia, who control their every step, these patients are not subject to any control: they tend to use drugs and alcohol as excessively as they eat excessively. Sometimes they exhibit other stereotypical behaviors, such as an obsessive desire for petty shoplifting. Bulimics have an increased risk of suicide.

Reasons for the development of bulimia

- ;
- low self-esteem;
- imbalance of chemicals and hormones in the brain;
- heredity.

Bulimia Symptoms

Destruction of tooth enamel and gum problems caused by repeated exposure to gastric acid when;
- dehydration;
- scratches on one or more fingers, which the patient places in the throat when trying to induce vomiting;
- inflammation of the esophagus and parotid salivary gland due to frequent vomiting;
- an imbalance of electrolytes (minerals and salts), which can also cause muscle twitches;
- various intestinal disorders (due to excessive use of laxatives);
- symptoms of impaired liver and kidney function;
- internal bleeding in some cases;
- irregular menstrual cycle;
- heart disease caused by metabolic changes in pathological eating behavior.

What can you do

If you or someone close to you has symptoms of bulimia, be sure to consult a doctor. As already mentioned, the patient cannot control himself at all, and, therefore, the disease can become quite severe.

What can a doctor do

The doctor will conduct an examination and study the history of the disease. He may ask about the patient's eating and exercise habits. After all, patients with bulimia go in for sports and diet constantly, without losing weight, and if they lose weight, they quickly gain weight again.

Having identified the signs of bulimia, the doctor will decide how much the patient needs hospitalization in this particular situation. Most cases of bulimia do not require hospitalization.
The patient will be recommended diet therapy, given advice on lifestyle changes. Your doctor may prescribe antidepressants.

Many patients benefit from group therapy. Bulimics feel ashamed of their indefatigable food intake and therefore feel better about discovering that they are not alone in their behavior.

Some doctors use hypnosis in treatment or teach the patient a technique of self-hypnosis to help control the urge to eat unrestrictedly.
It is very important that the patient's family members are also consulted by the doctor. They must be able to control the situation, monitor the behavior of the patient. Otherwise, the problem will only get worse, and the treatment will not be beneficial.

Preventive measures

Prevention of bulimia is a healthy psychological climate in the family, a stable and safe environment, the education of a healthy self-esteem in a child. Food should not be used as a way to reward and punish children. If your child (especially in adolescence) is worried about being overweight and underweight, you need to keep a close eye on his diet and eating behavior so as not to miss the development of a disease such as bulimia.

In order to instill in your child the right attitude towards medicines, do not use them without a doctor's prescription. In this case, children will understand the seriousness of any drug therapy and will not abuse drugs in the future.

Bulimia nervosa (bulimia nervosa) is a type of eating disorder in which patients have a sharp increase in appetite, and it manifests itself in the form of an attack, accompanied by excruciating hunger, soreness in the pit of the stomach and weakness. Bulimia, the symptoms of which can also accompany a number of diseases of the endocrine system, the central nervous system, manifests itself, in addition, in mental disorders, and also often causes obesity.

general description

As the basis of bulimia, a neuropsychiatric disorder is considered, it manifests itself in the loss of control over the food consumed, as well as in the patient's focus on calories, weight and, in fact, on food. This disorder is combined with the appearance of attacks of severe hunger in the patient, the use of laxatives and drugs for weight loss, in addition, patients also, on top of this, provoke vomiting in themselves. Distinctive features of bulimics are their low self-esteem, excessive self-criticism, constant guilt. The idea of ​​own weight in such patients is distorted. The severe stage of bulimia is accompanied by sharp fluctuations in the body weight of patients.

From the Greek, the literal translation of the term "bulimia" in its constituent parts means "bull hunger", in addition, this disease can also be referred to as "kinorexia". Pathological increase in hunger in some cases may be accompanied by pain in the abdomen and weakness, food intake does not reach the stage of saturation, which leads to gluttony (it is defined as the corresponding term - polyphagia).

As already indicated, bulimia can act as a companion of actual disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) in terms of functional or organic parts (epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, tumors, etc.), as well as a companion of mental pathologies (compulsive disorder, psychopathy). , schizophrenia, etc.). In addition, bulimia can also be triggered by an increased level of insulin in the patient's blood.

In recent years, the incidence of bulimia, diagnosed mainly among women, has increased and, unfortunately, there are no positive changes in terms of reducing its growth at the moment. It is customary to highlight the relationship of bulimia with certain ethnic and social predispositions that predispose to the development of this disorder.

In general, it can also be indicated that bulimia is one of the variants of obsessions that are directly related to food. It acts as another variant of this kind of disorder.

Mostly bulimia, not caused by exposure in the form of any organic factor, is psychological in nature, causing the intake of food by a sick person as a way to correct the general emotional state in which he currently resides. On a subconscious level, the patient attempts to escape from the objectively existing reality due to overeating.

Thus, an outbreak of negative emotions (uncertainty, anger, fear, anger, etc.) becomes the reason for turning to food, due to which, as expected, positive emotions will be received. In other words, the arising troubles are "jammed", the food helps to force out such emotions to the subconscious. Considering that at the physiological level, food intake actually makes it possible to achieve the production of the hormone of happiness (endorphin) due to pleasant taste sensations, a kind of fixation associated with the corresponding situation is formed, it looks simple: after eating, a person receives positive emotions and, accordingly, pleasure.

As a result of this attachment, there is an increasing turn to food as a way to escape emerging problems, regardless of their size. Subsequently, the extension of pleasant sensations is achieved by increasing the time spent on eating while concentrating the patient on the fullness of the stomach and on its consumed volumes. Even later, those taste sensations that are associated with food consumption are lost, concentration, again, concerns the fullness of the stomach and the volumes consumed. At the physiological level, the concentration of blood supply is focused on the organs of the digestive system, the functions of the nervous system are subject to deterioration, the psychological state of patients is reduced to focusing their interests solely on nutritional needs.

The considered option of avoiding the problems that exist in the reality of patients has some attractiveness, which determines the main danger of falling into a vicious circle associated with this disease. The principle of such attractiveness is extremely simple, it lies in the fact that “delicious” is available always, everywhere and to everyone, that is, in fact, food is available to everyone. And if the personality itself is predisposed to finding simple ways to get away from psychological problems, then food, due to which this becomes possible to a certain extent, becomes almost a natural option in their choice.

Based on these aspects, it can be added that bulimia is a psychophysical addiction for the simple reason that it has not only a specific psychological background, but also a specific instinct associated with the need to satisfy hunger. The development of biological dependence occurs in those cases in which regular overeating leads to a violation of the mechanism by which appetite regulation is ensured.

Thus, the basis for the regulation of hunger is no longer reduced to normal biological factors (such as, for example, the fullness of the stomach or the content of carbohydrates in the blood), but to the subjective principle of its activation. That is, the feeling of hunger in such cases does not arise, again, according to the normal principle, according to which a person really needs to eat, but in other situations, under the influence of factors that cause a pathological feeling of hunger, which becomes possible even after eating. Thus, if a patient with bulimia initially consumed food only in those conditions under which he did not feel hunger, as such, then the progression of this disease leads to the fact that hunger becomes his constant companion, that is, an irresistible feeling of hunger will be constant for the patient.

Eating behavior may be disturbed according to one of the following options:

• the absorption of food occurs paroxysmal and in large quantities, that is, there is a sudden onset of appetite;
• the constant consumption of food by the sick, that is, as you know, the patient eats all the time;
• nighttime consumption of food, accompanied by a nocturnal onset of hunger.

Bulimia: classification

The classification of bulimia is reduced to its compliance with the following options:

• primary bulimia - a feeling of constant hunger, coupled with an uncontrollable desire to "eat, eat and eat";
• bulimia resulting from anorexia - with anorexia, uncontrollable bouts of overeating are also allowed, after which the same feeling of guilt appears as in bulimics, attempts are made to cleanse in one form or another.

The course of bulimia can also be defined under one of the following patterns of patient behavior:

• attacks of gluttony are accompanied by the subsequent implementation of measures to cleanse the body of what has been eaten due to vomiting, enemas or laxatives;
• there is no purification from the food consumed, attempts are made to control one's own weight through diets, which is associated with periodic breakdowns in gluttony, which is why measures are followed to aggravate dietary restrictions on nutrition.

Bulimia: causes

The causes of bulimia are closely related to the symptoms, therefore, the selection of this particular section is rather symbolic, due to which, nevertheless, we can determine for the reader some principles of the causal factor in the development of this disease. Considering the fact that the problem of bulimia is strictly individual, although it has some features similar in different cases, some of the causes of this disease can also be gleaned directly from the section describing the manifestations of bulimia, that is, from the section on symptoms.

Let's start with the fact that bulimia, in accordance with its provoking causes, can be of a physiological or psychological nature.

The physiological nature implies the previously identified organic lesions of the brain, as well as lesions that affect metabolic processes and hormonal disorders. As for the psychological nature of the occurrence, it takes place in the vast majority of cases of diagnosing bulimia.

In particular, for example, it can be noted that quite often bulimia is a disease that develops in people from wealthy families, which is due to the ambitiousness and general pretentiousness of the installations existing within them. Quite often, children from such families have an inferiority complex, combined with a fear of letting their family down, not justifying their hopes (or imaginary hopes), dishonoring, etc.

Initially, patients with bulimia do not stand out in any way "from the crowd", although it may be evident that they have excessive demands on themselves, susceptibility to depressive states and being alone. Over time, their life is completely concentrated on food and only on it, in connection with which communication and society as such is already in the background. Because of the current situation, patients with bulimia begin to completely withdraw into themselves, in one way or another, finding reasons for avoiding any kind of communication.

One of the problems of bulimia is that in this disease, unlike anorexia, for example, which can be found in people who are apparently emaciated, the weight of bulimics remains within the normal range for a long period of time, sometimes only reaching some moderate fluctuations to a large extent. side. This is explained by the fact that bulimia is accompanied by a need realized by patients to get rid of food consumed through vomiting, which, despite a significant appetite, excludes excess caloric intake as a fact. Meanwhile, this is not a final statement, because about half of what is eaten still manages to be digested. Thus, patients can practically stand out in nothing, they are mostly silent about their mania, allowing only very close people to see it.

Basically, bulimia nervosa, as already indicated, is diagnosed in the female part of the population, from the age of 13 years and older. The critical age for the peak of symptoms of bulimia is defined in the range from 15 to 16, from 22 to 25 and from 27 to 28 years, although this disease can also be diagnosed in older patients, at this point we will stop in a detailed consideration of the symptoms of the disease. Mild bulimia is often diagnosed in both sexes. It also happens that this disease can be the result of a previous long-term diet. In other words, with a long-term restriction of oneself in taking the desired food, a person at one moment “breaks down”, indulging, so to speak, “in all serious ways” in this direction.

It is noteworthy that bulimics themselves often single out such a side of the problem that provokes this disease as a lack of appropriate volitional qualities. That is, in accordance with this principle, the patient, precisely because of this, cannot refuse, due to certain volitional efforts, from consuming food according to a given scenario, simultaneously adhering to the diet without any deviations. Singling out this side of the problem is wrong.

The fact is that bulimia has common aspects with drug addiction, except that food, as we have already noted, is even more accessible and, in fact, for this reason it is considered as a drug - due to a direct comparison of exposure, behavior and other points. Similarly, with the depth of the problem of drug addiction, the problem of bulimia can also be considered, because with this disease, the patient will also not be able to get rid of the harmful craving for food, that is, getting out of the vicious circle on his own turns out to be an impossible option. Considering that over time, with bulimia, a feeling of satiety does not occur, the “dose” of food consumed has to be increased, meals are needed even more often, snacks become an almost constant occurrence, then the parallels with drug addiction, as the reader can see, are undeniable.

A feature of bulimia is the fact that the main preferences in the food of patients are given to flour and sweets. The reasons for this choice, in general, are clear: such food contributes more to the emergence of pleasure from it, thereby increasing the production of endorphin by the body, and, of course, such food has a higher calorie content, which is why blood sugar rises, and with it, respectively, increases and saturation.

There is another side to such a love of food, it lies in the fact that patients, using it in too large quantities, begin to feel guilty about what they have eaten. The feeling of guilt, as you know, refers to negative feelings, that is, to “jammed” feelings, which, accordingly, leads to the fact that next bouts of hunger appear with guilt, which, as you know, closes the vicious circle again. Bouts of gluttony in many cases are accompanied, against the background of guilt, by the desire to get rid of what was eaten, which can also be done under the influence of fear for being overweight due to the abundance of food eaten. The simplest way is to induce vomiting for such patients, although they “do not disdain” enemas and laxatives. In addition to this, bulimics try to achieve weight regulation through certain food restrictions and through diets.

Thus, the development of bulimia is like a cycle in which the binge eating, then attempts self-purification (vomiting, enemas, laxatives), and after diet, all this - until the next breakdown, which in any case is present in this cycle.

For the most part, bulimics rarely have an idea of ​​what digestion is, how it happens. Because of this ignorance, accordingly, the fact remains unknown to them that the vomiting artificially induced by them after eating completely prevents the food just eaten from leaving the stomach, moreover, almost half of what was eaten still remains in it after vomiting. Further, this food is sent, as expected, to the intestines, after which it naturally leaves the body in the appropriate form. With regard to the use of a laxative, it actually causes fluid loss, but in no way becomes a means to reduce the digestibility of calories consumed.

In addition, an important point is the practical danger of cleaning procedures due to the methods noted and used by bulimics. It consists in the fact that the water-salt balance in the body is subject to violation, and the mucous membranes of the pharynx and esophagus are also irritated. Thus, patients who regularly use enemas for "cleansing purposes" often encounter various types of proctological disorders. And this is not to mention the fact that severe dehydration, again, achieved through the use of certain drugs and against the background of the general picture of the disease, can be fatal.

Taking into account the peculiarities of bulimia, it should be noted that the treatment of this disease requires not only the implementation of measures in the direction of gastroenterology, but also measures of psychotherapy, moreover, it is psychotherapy that is the main and priority direction of influence on the patient to achieve appropriate results. The absence as such in the treatment of measures to correct psychological problems nullifies the likelihood of a cure for bulimia, which is important to remember.

Bulimia: symptoms

We examined the basics associated with the disease, as well as its main manifestations, briefly above, now we will try to delve into the essence of the manifestations of symptoms and their nature in more detail.

The basis of the disease, for example, may be the following scheme. So, a child in childhood did not receive tenderness, affection, warmth, etc., in addition, he also fell under certain restrictions regarding contact with other children, due to which he could receive a share of pleasure, joy and positive emotions corresponding to such communication, but, as Obviously, I didn't get them. That is, the child grew up in severity, in "hedgehogs". As a result of such a way of life, he, having no other sources of joy and positive emotions at his disposal, finds them, figuratively speaking, in food.

As a result, the main influx of such emotions comes through food, while parents, not having the opportunity or desire to give him more (in the emotional, again, plan), indulge in an increased appetite that compensates for the lack of such needs. This, in turn, leads to the fact that the child begins to overeat, which affects his weight. In a team, for example, at school, for this reason, he is faced with rejection of himself by others, with ridicule, lack of popularity and various antics of his peers due to being overweight. The child begins to understand that the cause of all this may be just fullness, because of which he gradually begins to hate his own eating habits, his own body. As destructive measures to combat weight, there are various methods of influencing the body, these are hunger strikes, and induced vomiting, etc. In some cases, children reach a state of exhaustion, in addition, they lose interest in everything that is not related to the topic of weight loss.

The body responds appropriately to the child's attempts to fight excess weight, hunger attacks appear as a protest on his part, it is becoming more and more difficult to control them with each manifestation.

It is also possible that bulimia develops in people whose weight can be called normal, but the essence of the disease lies in the fact that it develops as a result of frequent attacks on a child in childhood. In such cases, it often happens that for parents the child is “not good enough”, regardless of what such a statement refers to - in particular, comparison with peers is used. Similarly, reproaches are used regarding the clumsiness of the child, his awkwardness, or, which is also, unfortunately, not uncommon, regarding ugliness, this is also issued “on top” in the form of appropriate reproaches. The situation is aggravated by the fact that girls (namely, they mostly have to deal with such attacks) make every possible, and sometimes impossible, attempt to “prove to everyone” what they can achieve (in terms of beauty, demand and fashion) , reaching the reference samples of "supermodels". They perceive their body, similarly to the reproach of their parents and the environment, until they achieve any results “not like that”, after which radical measures are taken to combat it, and this is a scheme of such components that are alternately repeated in action, such as “hunger strike - excessive appetite - the resulting vomiting is overeating."

Bulimia can also manifest itself episodically, which is accompanied by the appearance of bouts of hunger in people who are outwardly healthy and prosperous at first glance. Basically, the manifestations of bulimia here are in attempts to "jam" the problem that has arisen in front of him, the problem that the person does not want to face. This can relate to anything, for example, problems that arise in family life or at work - that is, in any situation and area in which a person refuses to perceive them as they should. Because of anxiety, there are prerequisites for the need to make some kind of decision. As a result, consciousness, as it were, refuses to accept the problem, while the body, figuratively speaking, finds a problem for its “solution”, through the subconscious, compensating for the anxiety that arises with an increase in appetite. Even such a seemingly simple example requires qualified assistance.

So, now back to anorexia and bulimia, which, by and large, are two sides in one common problem. Anorexia itself is the result of uncontrolled measures implemented in an attempt to lose weight, combined with a fear of “acquiring” extra pounds. That is, anorexia is accompanied by loss of appetite and the development of depressive states in patients. In this case, if the anorexic is forced to eat, then he will develop a “defensive reaction”, accompanied by vomiting with convulsions. About 5% of American women from the "business" field of activity suffer from anorexia, while housewives account for about 2%.

As for the Russian Federation, here this disease occurs on average in 0.5% of the female population in the age range of 25-55 years. Predominantly, this disease affects women in the “public” sphere of activity (show business, TV, etc.), as well as the elite. On average, mortality from anorexia is about 11.5%, which in particular occurs due to insufficient intake of food in the body, various vitamins and trace elements that it needs. If we talk about more accurate figures, then on average about 2,500 patients die (as part of a review of annual statistics on this disease). In addition, one in ten cases is a case of exhaustion, heart attack or suicide.

As a practical antipode of anorexia, the disease of interest to us, in fact, bulimia, is considered. Bulimia, as the reader has already been able to understand, consists in part of its manifestations in uncontrolled overeating. The result of this disease at certain stages are convulsions, gastric lavage in a hospital and subsequent treatment in a number of areas. In addition to bulimia, pathologies of one scale or another that affect the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) also join. Basically, as we have already found out, women are ill, it is approximately possible to determine the territorial predisposition. So, only 1.5% of the population falls on adult Americans, while out of 10 cases, 9 are women, 1, respectively, men. For European countries, the statistics are approximately the same. But in Japan, bulimia is somewhat rare, here the prevalence of the disease is only about 0.25%. Regardless of the territorial location, bulimia is a purely "female" disease.

There can be a lot of situations that provoke overeating. This may be the process of divorce, relevant for a woman, and a session for a student, and misunderstanding of parents or "unrequited love" for teenagers, etc. It is noteworthy that in Russia the statistics not only differ from other countries on this disease, but also somewhat deviate from the standards set aside for it. The fact is that the existing incidence accounts for about 34% of cases of diagnosing bulimia in men, and about 22% of cases of diagnosing it in children.

Now let's move on to the features of clinical manifestations associated with bulimia. In particular, patients may have a certain swelling of the glands in the neck and face, the enamel of the teeth from their back surface is subject to the development of erosive processes, hemorrhages may appear on the face, the salivary glands may also swell (which gives patients a characteristic appearance, in which they are compared with a chipmunk). There is constant soreness in the throat, the esophagus is inflamed, which is accompanied by heartburn. All these symptoms appear as a result of exposure provoked by artificially induced vomiting by patients. Bulimic episodes of "eating-vomiting" are also accompanied by impulsive actions performed against the background of emotional overstrain, actions of this nature are performed in the conditions of patients being alone. Eating is associated with the need for significant efforts to neutralize the harm that overeating brings with it, which is also directly related to the need to get rid of the calories absorbed from the food itself.

Patients with bulimia also implement the appropriate line of behavior in public, due to which it can be quite difficult to “suspect something is wrong”. So, because of the shame associated with uncontrollable behavior due to excessive appetite, bulimics make attempts to hide the real state of affairs. Often, secretly, patients eat enough, after which, as a standard for themselves, they induce vomiting to get rid of what they have eaten. In public, they eat in moderation, if not limited. If something interfered with the process of eating in the daily routine, or if someone caught the bulimic at a “hungry meal”, the actions, respectively, are bashfully and quickly hidden and interrupted / completed. The absorption of food in frequent cases is associated with preparation for the "ritual", which is accompanied by preliminary bulk purchases and preparations. To implement the plan of such a "ritual", the patient can even go to the theft of food.

The listed episodes and the line of behavior that is truly inherent in bulimics can be hidden for a long period of time, until, accordingly, they are discovered.

The progression of bulimia gradually leads to the fact that the thoughts of a sick person are reduced only to satisfying hunger, as a result of which any type of problem (interpersonal, family, professional, etc.) fades into the background. Outwardly, at the same time, as already noted, most of the patients with bulimia look normal, giving the impression of healthy people, although their tendency to loneliness, exactingness (primarily to themselves), and depressive moods may stand out. Their standards are overestimated, while self-esteem, on the contrary, is subject to underestimation. Again, as we have already highlighted, life is fully focused on food, body features, and also on the fact that you have to hide your own preferences from the environment.

As another, no less specific sign of bulimia, the bulimic's feeling of loss of control over himself is singled out, which is relevant in particular for the period when he has an overeating attack. This applies, for example, to the feeling that it is impossible to control the amount eaten, or that it is in principle impossible to abstain from food. There is also the patient's fear that he will not be able to stop eating from the moment he has an overeating attack, and this fear can reach serious panic states. It is due to such fears and a feeling of lack of control that he performs compensatory actions, that is, these are the previously considered attempts to artificially induce vomiting, use enemas, laxatives, fasting and dieting. This, according to patients, allows you to counteract both overeating and the weight that can increase due to this.

Bulimia is accompanied, among other things, by the appearance of anxiety in patients regarding their own weight and overall shape. This explains the seriousness of the attitude and the appropriate approach to caring for the figure and weight, including the systematic diet. If we consider the specific areas through which self-esteem is formed, then for bulimics it is focused precisely on weight and figure, often being in the first place in the distribution of priorities that are relevant to them. Moreover, it is precisely the features of the state in these areas that determine for them the appropriate “mood” in evaluating themselves, in relation to themselves.

Further, one should also highlight another feature characteristic of patients with bulimia, and it lies in their emotional fragility, which is also complemented by difficulties in controlling their own emotions. Figuratively speaking, it can be distinguished that for bulimics, fat is a kind of protection that allows them to protect themselves from what can injure a person in general, this applies in particular to relationships with the opposite sex and general emotions that could lead to a similar result. Food, in turn, is seen as a substitute for any pleasure that exists in life.

In patients with bulimia, as a result, two main directions prevail in life, these are bouts of constant and uncontrollable appetite / absorption of food and fear associated with loss of control in relation to emotions. The fear of losing control over them gradually transforms into a peculiar attitude towards food. This manifests itself, roughly speaking, in the fact that here you can easily “bloom” and “allow yourself everything”, which cannot be said about emotions in life, which can be dangerous and can “hurt” them with their manifestation, that is, food acts as a counterbalance to the rest of the components of life, outside of which bulimics, in fact, stay.

Basically, patients try to cope with the problem by restricting the diet, but the more significant the restrictions for themselves they set and the more they try not to eat, the more their desire for unrestrained absorption of food increases.

There are different types of bulimia for certain categories of patients, due to which there is a difference in terms of psychological characteristics, requiring, accordingly, a difference in the implemented therapeutic measures. So, for some patients, the problem of overweight is relevant, they cannot, in principle, follow any diet, therefore the treatment of bulimia for them is mostly medication. In most cases, such patients come to the realization of the essence of the problem, that is, that they once went through a certain experience, as a result of which there was also a fear of further inability to correct and control emerging impulses. This is accompanied by the awareness of the fact that the existing attitude towards food is defensive, and that they would also like to realize unrestrained impulses in other areas, thereby going beyond such impulses only in relation to the food consumed.

Somewhat less often in practice, specialists have to deal with those patients who do not recognize the protective factor as an actual problem in their own disorder. Because of this, the attitude towards food on their part can be compared with the perception of it as a demon that has inhabited them. Such patients cannot recognize and accept the connections of unrestraint in relation to food and their own inability to control themselves in other areas of life. Often, such an attitude on the part of a certain part of the patients is associated with an increased sense of guilt and with moralism regarding their own promiscuity, as well as with its complete denial. Basically, the considered part of the patients faces significant difficulties associated with relationships with the opposite sex.

Remarkably, in some patients, the symptoms of bulimia develop by the time in life when the children grow up, more precisely, when they leave the parental home. Here, as is clear, we are talking about older women, whom we initially identified in the general consideration of the disease. The problems that arise in the relationship of the spouses, in this case, take on more obvious contours, which is explained by the fact that the husband, as before, is engaged in professional activities, and the spouse, left "out of work", having exhausted her main role, that is, the role of the mother, faced with a certain depressive background. Under such conditions, due to the unrestrained absorption of food, attempts are made to compensate for one's own state due to pleasant emotions received with food, which also makes it possible to fill the days with meaning in a peculiar way.

There is another type of patients. Here, with bulimia, it is possible for a certain period to withstand dietary restrictions and conditions that arise against this background, but after that there is a loss of control and a breakdown. As a result, the weight is in constant fluctuations between the optimal indicator and between the figure that exceeds such an indicator by 5-6 kg. In this case, there is an alternation in patients of periods of control with periods of loss of control. They are in a constant struggle with diets, although they never reach excessive weight.

In this case, patients, reaching the norm of weight through weight loss, are aware of their own attractiveness, however, internal fear leads to the fact that they again begin to eat excessively, which is done so that a certain layer of fat appears, due to which it is possible to protect and protect against the people around them. A feature of such patients is also their increased resistance to the measures of therapeutic intervention implemented against them. To solve the problem, they, as a rule, attempt to turn to specialized help from nutritionists and other doctors, missing the need for psychocorrection, due to which disappointment and the lack of effect from other measures lead to the fact that they simply ignore further therapy.

An extremely relevant aspect for patients with bulimia is the dependence on a positive assessment from the people around them. Stabilization of one's self-esteem, in other words, is achieved through the confidence that there is approval from the environment. Because of this, bulimics often try to behave in such a way that their behavior and actions correspond to the expectations that exist on the part of their environment, which, however, leads to the suppression of their own desires, which, as is clear, are in the background.

Bulimic patients then seek to make others happy, holding on to the idea that perfection must be achieved in order to be loved. Such behavior, as well as thinness, are criteria for compliance with both perfection and the achievement of love and recognition of others, in their opinion. It is difficult for them to accept themselves in a different version than expected, because of this, there are difficulties with self-perception and difficulties in relationships.

Considering that bulimics strive to please the people around them, hiding their true emotions becomes one of the measures to achieve this, because if, for example, anger is shown, then the person to whom it is addressed will be offended , which means that he will also fail to please. Ultimately, bulimics do a lot of things that they don’t want to do, which, in turn, accompanies a low degree of self-expression. The origins of this behavior, as well as the problem of bulimia, can be traced back to early childhood. It can also be added that as a condition, also originating from such a trait as "like others", such a characteristic trait of bulimics as the desire for perfectionism, based on dependence on the approval of the people around them, can also be considered. The desire to achieve perfection, however, takes a slightly different form if it is associated with food. Weight correction through a diet in most cases becomes ineffective, because it is not possible to stick to a diet for a long time, discomfort and guilt increase due to a failure in it, their elimination becomes possible only through food, which leads to the repeated formation of a vicious circle according to the “food - Guilt is food.

By itself, food in any case becomes a means of relieving stress only for a while. At the same time, the longer overeating appears (actually bulimia as a defining condition), the shorter the periods of "calm" that follow eating become. As a result, food also acts as a mood regulator for patients. Based on these points, it is necessary to emphasize how important the treatment of bulimia in the early stages becomes, and the treatment is not only medication, but also psychotherapeutic, and not only the treatment of a particular patient with this disease, but also work with his family (in particular, I mean, again , method of psychocorrection).

Summing up, I would like to dwell on the fact that bulimics in the vast majority of cases tend to categorically deny the existence of a problem in the form of the disease we are considering. Given this, the main signs of bulimia can be detected by relatives and close people of the alleged patients, therefore, in fact, we will single them out separately:

• Behavioral signs of bulimia
  • eating large amounts of food, swallowing large pieces, with poor chewing, food is absorbed hastily;
  • after eating, bulimics rush to leave the table for the toilet, which is extremely necessary for them to induce vomiting;
  • with bulimia, patients lead a secluded lifestyle, non-standard signs in behavior may appear, indicating some disorders in mental health, they are also secretive;
  • excessive passion for diets, persistent counting of calories consumed with food;
  • the presence of "in the arsenal" of the patient diuretic, emetic, laxatives;
  • bringing yourself to exhaustion through physical exercise;
• Physiological signs of bulimia
  • weakness, general health problems, low energy levels throughout the day;
  • susceptibility to inflammatory diseases of the pharynx and throat (they appear in the form of pharyngitis, tonsillitis, etc.);
  • menstrual disorders, amenorrhea (absence of menstruation);
  • frequent fluctuations in weight up or down;
  • metabolic disorders, diseases of the digestive system;
  • hypertrophy of the salivary glands, increased salivation;
  • the presence of dental diseases, acting in this case as a result of regular vomiting calls;
  • the appearance of signs of dehydration, skin laxity, dermatitis, changes in the general condition of hair, nails and skin;
  • depression.

Complications of bulimia

Due to systematic overeating, supplemented by inducing vomiting, a number of serious health problems can develop, they are as follows:

• the development of diseases in the oral cavity, in particular, periodontitis, periodontal disease and caries, tooth enamel is also destroyed;
• due to vomiting, the voice becomes constantly hoarse;
• parotitis may develop;
• cycle disorders develop, which, as already noted, can reach the state of amenorrhea;
• pregnancy becomes a separate problematic area, with regard to both the changes associated with it and the actual fact of its occurrence (that is, problems with conception are considered);
• disorders of the digestive system (chronic forms of enteritis, gastritis, inflammation of the esophageal mucosa, intestinal peristalsis disorders, flatulence, constipation, impaired liver function, pancreas, etc.);
• development of endocrine diseases (hypothyroidism, diabetes);
• disturbances in the work of the cardiovascular system, which is accompanied by a violation of the heart rhythm, dizziness, loss of consciousness; in rare, but not excluded variants of the course of the disease, bulimia against the background of the loss of trace elements (magnesium and potassium) associated with the occurrence of these problems can cause cardiac arrest;
• rupture of the stomach (this complication is rare, but it is also not excluded, it is caused by excess food in the stomach);
• a tendency to alcoholism on the basis of depressive states, provoked by constant anxiety about their own weight and combined with guilt arising from overeating.

Diagnosis and treatment

As the main directions on which the diagnosis of bulimia is based, one can define a patient survey, in some cases - a conversation only with people from a close circle or with relatives, that is, with the exclusion of communication with the patient due to certain circumstances that do not allow this. The main circumstances concerning the development of the disease, the symptoms and features of well-being, the appearance of the patient are clarified. Also, additional test results may be required, on the basis of which it is possible to identify specific changes associated with bulimia. The diagnosis of "bulimia nervosa" can be made by a specialist on the basis of such a picture, in which overeating, combined with "cleansing" is carried out at least twice a week for three months or more.

As for such an issue as the treatment of bulimia, it, as already noted, is based on the implementation of a complex of measures of drug therapy and measures of behavioral psychotherapy. Due to behavioral psychotherapy, it is possible to “reach out” to the patient in terms of understanding the existing problem, and then decide how to deal with it in a particular case. The duration of such therapy is about 5 months, due to the appropriate effect, the number of episodes associated with overeating is subject to reduction, which, in turn, makes it possible to subsequently rid the patient of the addiction that has arisen. Medical treatment is focused primarily on replenishing the lost trace elements (magnesium, potassium), as well as on the treatment of complications caused by bulimia. Additionally, antidepressants are prescribed, which complement behavioral psychotherapy, thereby contributing to improved treatment outcomes.

Mental disorders, characterized mainly by a decrease in mood, motor retardation and thought failures, are a serious and dangerous disease, which is called depression. Many people believe that depression is not a disease and, moreover, does not carry any special danger, in which they are deeply mistaken. Depression is a rather dangerous type of disease, caused by the passivity and depression of a person.

Herpes is a viral disease that manifests itself in the form of characteristic rashes (vesicles), grouped together and localized in the mucous membranes and on the skin. Herpes, the symptoms of which occur against the background of exposure to herpes viruses, most often occurs in the form of a labial (more precisely, labial) infection, its manifestations in traditional use are defined as "colds on the lips." There are other forms of the disease, for example, genital herpes (with a primary lesion of the genital organs), as well as forms in which a variety of areas are affected.

is an eating disorder that occurs due to mental and somatic causes. It is characterized by an increased feeling of hunger with reduced satiety. At the heart of bulimia is an obsessive fear of gaining weight.

It has been established that bulimia affects mainly young girls. The disease begins at a young age and can last for years.

The picture of the disease

Patients often experience excruciating bouts of hunger that they cannot control. At such moments, experiencing a strong craving for food, and unable to restrain themselves, they begin to absorb food in large quantities, while they cannot feel full.

Lack of feeling of satiety acoria), occurs when receptors in the hypothalamic region are damaged, which signal the accumulation of carbohydrates in the blood. Violation of this function of the hypothalamic receptors leads to a constant feeling of hunger.

The process of eating in patients with bulimia can be divided into 3 stages:
1. Strong and irresistible desire to eat.
2. Uncontrolled eating. Bulimics are sometimes referred to as "drunken eaters", and this expression is true.
3. The subsequent desire to "clear" the stomach of excess food. Patients with bulimia resort to laxatives or artificially induce vomiting.

Often this behavior, characteristic of patients with bulimia, can be seen in anorexics. However, unlike anorexia, there is no significant loss of body weight in bulimia. If anorexics can be identified by severe physical exhaustion, then patients with bulimia, whose weight is kept within the normal range, can hide their disease from others for years.

The first and main sign of the development of bulimia is a constant craving for food. Food becomes a cult, in which patients see the meaning of life. Bulimics feel good only when they eat. When they stop chewing, they become irritable and cannot concentrate on anything. Oddly enough, but the majority of those suffering from bulimia are not at all overweight. The constant fear of obesity causes bulimics to immediately get rid of the food they eat, so that it is not absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract.
Patients set an optimal weight for themselves, try to achieve it by using various diet pills; do intense sports activities.

The main signs of bulimia

Physiological signs of bulimia that require inpatient treatment

There is a misconception that bulimia is just overeating. In fact, binge eating and bulimia are very different. When overeating, a person still experiences a feeling of satiety and enjoys the taste of food. Patients with bulimia practically do not feel the taste of food, the process of eating food is important for them, and they do not experience a feeling of satiety.

In addition, the process of overeating in no way changes the mood of a person, does not introduce him into a depressive state, as in bulimics. An overeating person, unlike those suffering from bulimia, is not obsessed with losing weight, even if he is objectively overweight.

All this testifies to the fact that the pathopsychological component plays a leading role in bulimic syndrome. That is why this disease is classified as a mental disorder.

It is almost impossible to cope with this disease on your own, since sooner or later a bulimic attack occurs and a person begins to absorb food in huge quantities. Bulimia is made up of such “food binges” and attempts to resist them. In the early stages of the disease, episodes of unrestrained eating occur 1 to 2 times a month. Over time, episodes of overeating become more frequent up to several times a week, and in severe cases- up to several times a day.

If bulimic attacks occur more than twice a week, then this is an indication for seeking medical help.

In severe cases of bulimic disorder, patients are hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital, drug treatment is carried out in conjunction with psychotherapy. At discharge, a schedule of visits to the doctor is assigned for subsequent therapeutic correction and consolidation of the skills of proper eating behavior.

Surely every person at least once in his life heard about a disorder called "bulimia". Symptoms of the disease are uncontrolled bouts of hunger, followed by a desire to get rid of excess weight. It is generally accepted that such a violation is the prerogative of models and celebrities. However, the disease is also common among other segments of the population.

What is this disorder? What are its main symptoms? What are the consequences for a sick person? Is it possible to get rid of bulimia at home? These questions are becoming more and more relevant in today's world.

What is bulimia?

Almost everyone knows about the existence of such a problem as bulimia. Many people consider this disorder to be a whim, but in fact it is a serious disease. It is accompanied by uncontrolled bouts of hunger, which are replaced by a period of regret and repentance on the part of a sick person.

How to treat bulimia? How to recognize this disease in time? These questions are of interest to many. After all, it is no secret to anyone that sometimes the help and support of a loved one is crucial.

Brief historical data

In fact, "bulimia" is a word of Greek origin, which literally means "bull hunger." The name in this case speaks for itself. To date, there is not much historical data on this disorder. It is only known that the first official studies began after the end of the First World War.

As a separate disease, bulimia was isolated in the twentieth century. According to statistics, over the past few decades, the number of patients suffering from such a disorder has increased significantly, which, in fact, explains the increased interest of physicians and researchers in this disease. According to statistical surveys, approximately 15-20% of the world's inhabitants from time to time observe classic bouts of bulimia.

The sharp increase in the number of patients with this diagnosis is associated with the characteristics and lifestyle of a modern person and changes in beauty standards. By the way, women most often suffer from bulimia, although this disorder also occurs among the male part of the population.

The main psychological causes of the development of bulimia

Today, many people are interested in questions about how to cure bulimia. But before studying information about modern methods of therapy, it is worth learning more about why this disease occurs. It's no secret that most often this ailment is associated with mental disorders. And the causes of bulimia can be very different.

Often the prerequisites for the development of bulimia appear in childhood. For example, if a child often experienced a feeling of hunger, or parents rewarded him with food for some kind of achievement, then the perception of food could be distorted. However, in most cases, complexes about appearance are risk factors, especially if in childhood or adolescence the child often heard criticism from parents, friends or peers about their own weight.

In some cases, binge eating can be associated with severe stress or emotional trauma. In some women, bulimia-type disorders develop against the background of a break with a loved one, job loss, death of someone close, etc.

On the other hand, breakdowns are often observed in women who carefully follow the figure. Constant strict diets lead to a deficiency of glucose and nutrients. Under such conditions, the work of the food center may be disrupted.

Are there physiological risk factors?

It is generally accepted that bulimia is a disease of exclusively mental origin. However, some people are predisposed to developing this disorder. Indeed, in some cases, uncontrolled bouts of hunger can be associated with the physiological characteristics of the body.

Today, the term "hereditary bulimia" is increasingly used. Its symptoms are associated with the presence of some genetic abnormalities in the brain.

In addition, bouts of hunger can be the result of various damage to the food center of the cerebral cortex. It is this zone that is responsible for the formation of feelings of hunger and satiety. When the work of this center is disturbed, perception and subjective sensations from food intake are distorted. This may be due to damage to the neural pathways that the brain receives information about the degree of filling of the stomach or the level of glucose in the blood.

There are other diseases that can lead to the development of bulimia. In particular, this disease often develops against the background of hormonal disruptions. For example, it may be caused by hypothalamic-pituitary insufficiency. Risk factors also include metabolic disorders, including metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, etc.

What happens during an attack?

There are very characteristic seizures that accompany bulimia. Patient reviews indicate that the scheme for such a disease is about the same. First, a person has a strong feeling of hunger. It can be caused by various factors. For example, hunger can be associated with stress, panic attacks, dissatisfaction, emotional overload, staring at food in the supermarket for a long time, watching a cooking show, etc.

It is worth noting that this is not just the usual hunger that every person experiences. This feeling is like an obsession. Patients tend to lash out when they are alone in the house, often at night. People suffering from bulimia begin to consume huge amounts of food. They do not smell or taste, so they often eat even spoiled foods. Since the feeling of fullness never comes, patients can eat until food supplies run out.

After an attack, a person usually feels real physical discomfort. After all, the stomach is greatly stretched, presses on the diaphragm, lungs and other internal organs, interfering with normal breathing. Often there are severe painful cramps in the abdomen. Such sensations cause a desire to get rid of the newly absorbed products. And the fastest way to do this is to induce vomiting. This helps eliminate physical discomfort.

Do not forget that bulimia nervosa is often associated with various complexes about appearance. Sick people strive to maintain the ideal (in their opinion) body shape. Therefore, after an attack, all possible methods are used - strict diets, taking laxatives and diuretics, as well as intense physical activity. All this, of course, gives the patient the desired results, but not without side effects. Taking laxatives and diuretics disrupts digestion, affects the water-salt balance, leaches useful minerals from the body, and ultimately can lead to dehydration.

Naturally, the habit of overeating and inducing vomiting is carefully hidden from loved ones, as it is perceived as something shameful. Most sick people are sure that they can stop at any moment, and they do not need the help of specialists.

Bulimia: symptoms of the disorder

Of course, with close communication with a person, you can notice some physiological changes:

This is what bulimia looks like. The consequences of this disease can be fatal. That is why it is so important to notice the main symptoms in time. By the way, patients have some psychological features.

In particular, people with bulimia are often obsessed with their own appearance and consider body weight as one of the main criteria for assessing personality. Bulimics very often talk about the problems of obesity, various diets and ways to deal with excess weight. On the other hand, a sick person is usually aware of the problem. And since the tendency to gluttony is considered a kind of shameful shortcoming, then none of the patients likes to talk about it.

Disease classification system

Today, many people are interested in questions about how to get rid of bulimia. However, it is worth learning a little more about this disorder first. In modern medicine, there are several classification schemes for this disorder, although they are all relative, because the causes and symptoms of bulimia are individual for each person.

For example, it is customary to single out primary bulimia (people suffer from constant hunger, which in most cases is associated with organic brain damage), as well as a disorder that has arisen against the background of anorexia.

Bulimia nervosa can also be divided into several types. Some patients after bouts of overeating try to quickly cleanse the body with vomiting, enemas, and medication. At the same time, other people prefer rigid diets, which only aggravate the situation and lead to repeated breakdowns.

Methods for diagnosing the disease

Surely everyone knows how dangerous bulimia can be. The symptoms of this disease, or rather their presence, is a serious reason to seek help from a specialist. As a rule, the main signs can be noticed already during communication with a person. So what does the test for bulimia look like?

People suffering from this disorder tend to be very preoccupied with their own weight and appearance. Despite the harmony, and sometimes severe thinness, the patient may worry about being overweight.

To combat extra pounds, the patient uses inadequate methods, although he may miss this shameful fact during a conversation with a psychotherapist. The diagnosis of bulimia is made if, in the past two months, the patient has experienced at least three bouts of uncontrolled hunger, followed by attempts to get rid of the calories eaten.

In the future, some additional studies are being carried out that help determine the presence of complications and the physiological causes of the development of this disorder.

Bulimia: inpatient treatment

Some people suffering from this disorder require hospital treatment. The question of hospitalization of the patient can only be decided by the attending physician. What is the indication for such therapy?

• First of all, these are strongly pronounced signs of bulimia, complete exhaustion of the body and the presence of severe concomitant diseases that pose a threat to the patient's life.
• Depressive states, apathy, suicidal thoughts.
• Severe dehydration, beriberi, nutritional deficiencies.
• In some cases, pregnant women have to be hospitalized, since bulimia is extremely dangerous for the life of a child.

How to treat bulimia with medication? It is immediately worth noting that only a doctor can determine the medicines and the scheme for taking them - it is highly not recommended to take any funds on your own.

What drugs are used to treat bulimia? Treatment most often involves taking antidepressants. Such funds improve the conductivity of the nerve pathways. For example, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (drugs "Prozac", "Fluoxetine") improve the conduction of impulses between the digestive organs and the food center of the cerebral cortex. Tricyclic antidepressants (Imizin) help to eliminate the symptoms of depression.

In addition, patients are prescribed other medications. In particular, it is extremely important to restore the balance of electrolytes in the body, which is achieved with the help of special solutions, the right diet, and the intake of vitamin complexes. Sometimes therapy includes antiemetic drugs and tranquilizers.

Psychotherapy for bulimia

In fact, there are many psychological techniques that are used to treat bulimia. The photo shows that most often you can get rid of the problem during a session with a psychotherapist. The most popular methods today are psychoanalysis, interpersonal and cognitive-behavioral therapy. In the classroom, a specialist will help identify and understand the causes of a mental disorder. Sessions also help to accurately identify subjective signs of an attack of hunger and resist it.

Can bulimia be cured at home?

Staying in a hospital is not indicated for all patients diagnosed with bulimia. Treatment at home is also possible. However, consultation with a specialist is required. It is also desirable that during therapy with a sick person there is always a relative or friend who is able to support in difficult moments.

To begin with, it is worth noting that the patient needs to attend at least 10-20 sessions of psychotherapy, since only a specialist can help to understand himself. As a rule, people with this disorder are advised to start a special food diary in which you can record the amount of food eaten, describe the sensations that appear during a breakdown, etc. Patients are advised to gradually introduce into the diet those foods that were previously perceived as forbidden, and forever forget about strict diets.

As for folk methods of treatment, healers in such cases recommend drinking linseed oil (improves the functioning of the digestive organs), an infusion of mint and parsley (has calming properties), and a decoction of corn stigmas.

The main consequences of the disease

It's no secret how dangerous bulimia can be. The consequences of such a disorder often lead to irreversible changes in the body, and sometimes to the death of the patient. So why is such a disease dangerous?

To begin with, it is worth noting that patients with this disorder are characterized by various diseases of the oral cavity - these can be gingivitis, periodontitis, frequent stomatitis, etc. Such people are also prone to frequent tonsillitis, laryngitis and pharyngitis, since gastric juice damages the upper respiratory way. Another common complication is inflammation of the parotid salivary gland.

Prolonged exposure of gastric juice to the mucous membrane of the esophagus leads to its irritation, so bulimia is associated with constant heartburn and other digestive disorders.

Strict diets, taking diuretics and laxatives, cleansing enemas and other means that bulimics use to combat excess weight adversely affect the functioning of the whole body. After all, useful substances simply do not have time to be absorbed, and minerals are quickly washed out of the body. Violation of the water-salt balance is extremely dangerous. Deficiency of nutrients leads to the periodic occurrence of seizures. Severe complications of bulimia include severe dehydration, the development of kidney failure.

Moreover, such a disorder affects the work of the endocrine system. Sudden changes in the hormonal background lead to disruption of the menstrual cycle up to amenorrhea. Sometimes bulimia provokes the development of adrenal insufficiency.

On the other hand, glucose deficiency affects the functioning of the brain. People's memory deteriorates, constant drowsiness and fatigue appear. The patients themselves become secretive and lead a solitary life. Often there is the appearance of depressive states up to thoughts of suicide. Such people are more prone to drug and alcohol addiction.

Bulimic patients may die from heart failure. Dangerous complications include perforation of the stomach or esophagus. That is why in no case should you ignore such a problem.