Bulimia Nervosa

Mostly known as bulimia is an eating disorder in which the subject engages in recurrent binge eating followed by feelings of guilt, depression, and self-condemnation. The sufferer will then engage in compensatory behaviors to make up for the excessive eating, which are referred to as "purging". Purging can take the form of vomiting, fasting, the use of laxatives, enemas, diuretics or other medications, or overexercising.

An episode of binge eating is characterized by both of the following:

Eating, in a fixed period of time, an amount of food that is definitely larger than most people would eat under similar circumstances. A lack of control over eating during the episode: a feeling that one cannot stop eating or control what or how much one is eating.

Recurrent inappropriate compensatory behavior to prevent weight gain, such as: self-induced vomiting; misuse of laxatives, diuretics or other medications; fasting; excessive exercise. Self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape and weight.

Bulimia is related to deep psychological issues and feelings of lack of control. Sufferers often use the destructive eating pattern to feel in control over their lives. They may hide or hoard food and overeat when stressed or upset. They may feel a loss of control during a binge, and consume great quantities of food (anywhere from 1,000 to over 20,000 calories) After a length of time, the sufferer of bulimia will find that they no longer have control over their binging and purging. The binging becomes an addiction that seems impossible to break. Recovery is very hard and often in the early stages of recovery the patient will gain weight as they are still binging but no longer purging, causing anxiety which will in turn cause the patient to revert back to bulimia.