How does Bulimia Nervosa occur?

Answer 1

Bulimia can occur for many reasons. I've suffered from both bulimia and anorexia. The fact of the matter is, that bulimia doesn't happen because of a fear of gaining weight, it happens because of a loss of control in other areas of your life. They anxiety you feel causes a person to put all their worries upon their weight and as a result they feel fat and unhappy with themselves. Bulimia is a complicated illness. By making yourself sick or abusing laxatives you won't actually loose any weight. Once the food has left the stomach, not only will it make a person feel unhappy and disgusting, but they will then need to eat again because the body can only survive when there's food in the stomach. As a result, you will then be absolutely starving and end up eating even more at the next meal, meaning you'll gain more weight. The cycle then begins again. Bulimia can make a person very tired, extremely cold (from lack of body insulation) and can even cause your period to stop, meaning that the hormones in your body shut down. This can make you very tired and lethargic, which puts even more of a focus on your weight. The best thing to do is to deal with the problem directly. If you're very tired, eat something and then have a nap. If you feel anxious, try to do something distracting like watching tv or reading a magazine. At first it will be very difficult and painful, because your body and your shape has been used to running on low levels of food. For a good few weeks, you won't actually gain any weight at all because all the energy will go directly into kicking your body into basic functions. Straight after a meal is the time people most want to purge, so this is the point that you should go off and do something fun and relaxing to take your mind off it. Call a friend, take a bath, read a good book, go out the house for a walk. It can often be very hard to maintain a regular meal time, but when you start to eat properly (breakfast lunch and dinner) your body will recognize that food is available and that it doesn't need you to desperately find high sugar foods like chocolate or crisps for immediate energy. This will mean you will eat a lot healthier and won't feel guilty about what you've eaten, meaning that it will be easier to risk the temptation of purging. Finally, remember that you're unique and absolutely beautiful the way you are. Nothing will ever take that away from you. Try to be kind to yourself and forgive yourself for making mistakes. Not everyone eats perfectly every time. Make sure you still treat yourself to some foods you enjoy regularly, instead of just trying to eat really healthily. When treats then become available you'll feel the temptation to binge eat instead.