Bulimia

BULIMIA

"It starts off with me thinking about the food that I deny myself when I am dieting. This soon changes into a strong desire to eat. First of all it is a relief and a comfort to eat, and I feel quite high. But then I can't stop and I binge. I eat frantically until I am absolutely full. Afterwards I feel so guilty and angry with myself." (qtd. In Maloney and Kranz 6)

The term bulimia nervosa means literally "the hunger of an ox." Unfortunately, this hunger cannot be satisfied by food alone ("Health"). Bulimics begin their disorder with a tendency to binge. They frequently feel intense anxiety, and they can calm it only temporarily by eating. After binge eating, a bulimic will often try to regain control by following a very strict diet. Once bulimics discover the idea of purging, they then think that they have found the solution. They describe their binge-purge cycle as a constant battle for control. Binging is when bulimics have lost control, and purging is their way of regaining it. Most begin by purging occasionally and slowly increase to binging and purging several times a day (Maloney and Kranz 76).

There is evidence that eating disorders may be inherited. There are two types of evidence that support this view. The first is that eating disorders run in families. Second is that in a case of identical rather than fraternal twins, if one pair has an eating disorder, it is very likely that the other will have one as well (Cooper 30). From an opposing view it could be argued that both of these factors could be a result of family environment rather than physical heredity. It could be common experiences that family members share within their shared environment that causes eating disorders to run in families (Hurley 97).

Often a girl who turns bulimic reports that she did not get sufficient care when she was a child. She may have been given the message that her parents were too busy to help her with her problems, causing her to learn early to rely on herself. At the same time she was probably expected to continue the appearance of being part of a happy, loving family (Maloney and Kranz 83). Such a girl may fear that if her parents find out how needy she really is or how angry she is that they aren't available, they will stop loving her. She most likely hides these feelings from herself, causing them to come back in the form of binging and purging (Hurley 88).

About a third of those who develop bulimia nervosa do so following an episode of anorexia nervosa. Also, about a third of those with any type of eating disorder have experienced depression before the onset of their eating disorder. This leads to the idea that an inherited tendency to depression raises the risk of somebody developing an eating disorder (Cooper 31). Looking at this suggestion from a psychological view, one could draw different conclusions. For example, having a depressed parent might produce circumstances that raise the child's chances of having low self-esteem. Low self-esteem could also raise a person's risk of developing an eating disorder.

Society's ideal woman has been getting thinner and thinner, making it much more difficult for people to imitate (Maloney and Kranz 2). Even if a person is at a weight perfect for her height and measurements, it is easy to feel like a failure if she's comparing herself to a movie star or to the cover girl on Cosmopolitan. Girls are constantly getting mixed messages when it comes to food, dieting and body shape. On one hand, a girl is supposed to be a good cook and do things with friends such as going out to eat. On the other hand, she is surrounded by unrealistic pictures of thin women with bodies and diets completely out of reach for the majority of women.

Turn on any commercial television station or pick up any teen magazine, and what

are you likely to see? You'll probably find at least one ad for some luscious food

being eaten by happy, satisfied people. And you'll probably see many ads, articles,

or programs featuring thin, glamorous models in tight designer jeans. What's the

message? Which is better: eating luscious food or being model thin? (Maloney

and Kranz 1)

Bulimia nervosa typically begins in people around the age of eighteen although most who go into treatment do so in their early twenties. Occasionally bulimia will arise in girls at age thirteen and fourteen, but it is very rare to see it in girls any younger than that (Cooper 49). Bulimia is found at all economic levels, and most who suffer from it are found to be attractive, successful women with no apparent weight problems. The disorder frequently develops at a transition point such as starting a new job, ending a significant relationship, going away to school, or facing a change of family circumstances (Maloney and Kranz 82).

The estimated prevalence of bulimia nervosa ranges from one percent to twenty percent of all females and from nought to five percent of all males ("Problem"). Unlike anorexics, bulimics appear to be of normal body weight or sometimes