Bulimia Nervosa is one of the most common eating disorders that can be left untreated for a very long time. Patients usually eat abnormally large amounts of food over a very short period of time. This period of binging is later followed by purging as the patients try to get rid of the food they ate to avoid weight gain.
Patients go to extreme measures in order to conceal their eating behavior, mostly because they feel ashamed of their condition. This makes the condition rather difficult to spot and the symptoms hard to identify. The proper treatment should focus on paying attention to the initial cause of the problem.
What Causes Bulimia?
The exact cause of bulimia is currently unknown, most of the time it is a combination of various factors.
- The genetic factor plays an important role in triggering bulimia. If a family member suffers from an eating disorder, even if it is not bulimia, then you might be at a great risk. Genetics play an important factor in pushing patients to go the same route of unhealthy eating patterns. Members of the same family might be living under the same conditions which can push a patient to binge and purge.
- Stressful life events can trigger bulimia. Some people will engage in unhealthy binging and purge episodes to take their minds off the stressful transitions in their lives. Coping with the death of a loved one, divorce or losing a job might push the patient to eat beyond their needs to fill an emotional void. History of trauma and emotional or sexual abuse can also trigger binging and purging behavior.Advertisement
- Social pressure from the social media and peers can push patients to adopt unhealthy eating patterns. Young women who are always fascinated by the extreme thin figures of celebrities might engage in destructive eating patterns to lose weight and maintain an unrealistic body weight. Some professions and social circles focus on appearances. Models, flight attendants, and customer care representatives might be even encouraged by others to lose weight fast by following crash diets and fasting for prolonged periods. Such behaviors can lead to the development of eating disorders like bulimia.
- Poor self-esteem and negative body image associated with lack of confidence can be the reason why someone develops a condition like bulimia. People might associate a thinner figure with being sexy and attractive. They will try to restrict their amount of food intake to feel better about themselves. This is very common among young and middle-aged women. Failure of maintaining long-lasting relationships and continuously comparing themselves to celebrities, usually push women to engage in binge and purge eating patterns.
Understanding that bulimia is usually a combination of several factors, allows the medical care health provider to create the proper treatment plan. The treatment options will address several concerns and deal with various side effects at the same time, you may click here to learn more.
Bulimia is a complex eating disorder that combines psychological and physical symptoms. Recovery is possible when a person follows the right treatment plan that will help change the behavior as well as deal with the various side effects.
