Bulimia Treatment: Advice and Options

treatment for bulimia

 Bulimia Treatment

Bulimia is an eating disorder compels people to binge on food and then purge through self-induced vomiting, diuretics or laxative abuse, or excessive exercise. People with bulimia tend to feel guilty and disgusted about food and fat. Even though most people with bulimia begin at normal weights, they think of themselves as fat. Roughly 90 percent of the people with bulimia are women, and the disorder usually begins a few years after puberty. Genetics, social pressures, and emotional problems like depression, low self-esteem, and extreme perfectionism contribute to bulimia's development.

Bulimia Treatment: Advice and Options

Without bulimia treatment, people with bulimia become dehydrated and malnourished. This causes mineral and vitamin deficiencies, resulting in dry skin, nails, and hair. Many people with bulimia are constipated from laxative abuse. Constant vomiting brings up stomach acid that irritates the throat and mouth. Many people with bulimia have heartburn, gum infections, swollen salivary glands, and cavities from the acid eroding tooth enamel. Without treatment, some of side effects, like kidney failure, can become fatal. Dehydration can lower the body's electrolyte levels, causing heart problems or even death. About 10 percent of people with bulimia will die from it.

Bulimia, however, is completely treatable. The sooner a person begins bulimia treatment, the sooner the recovery. Successful recovery depends on the work of psychiatrists, doctors, dieticians, and the patient. Psychiatrists work with the patient to break the binge-and-purge cycles and to educate the patient about what she is doing to her body and mind. The psychiatrist and patient must identify the triggers of a binging-and-purging episode, as well as help the patient cope with an unhealthy body image. The patient must learn to communicate openly and must increase his or her self-esteem. Doctors work with the patient to treat the effects of bulimia's dehydration and malnutrition on the body. A dietician helps the patient develop healthy eating habits.

Bulimia Treatment Can Save a Life

effective bulimia treatment can save a life.

 We have all seen the models, women who aspire to remain size zero, those that get are extremely hassled even if they look .001% fatter than they were before, people who are obsessed with looking thin always. Being fashionably thin may be important to models whose careers depend on this, but unfortunately this affects others too. Even the people whose career and money don't depend on looks can be obsessed with weight.

Some people achieve this by balance of dieting and exercise but there are others who can't stop binge eating and enjoying in the pleasures of food. Such people eat all the food they have and then go and throw it up, they purge. This is a serious psychological disorder known as bulimia. For them it becomes like a cycle of eating all they want and then puking. Very soon this becomes a lifestyle, a habit, a cycle to which they get addicted. It also effects the physical and emotional being of the body.

However this vicious cycle can be broken easily by effective bulimia cure. If the person suffering from bulimia undergoes timely and proper bulimia treatment it can be easily treated and the person can be back to normal eating habits, and if neglected bulimia can be very dangerous.

The first step towards bulimia cure is to recognize and diagnose it well. The following symptoms might help you detect it and hence get the effective and appropriate bulimia treatment: 

• Binge eating way too often, liking food to the level of being obsessive
• Concerned about the way your body looks and the conviction that you weigh way more than normal

Some of the bulimic behavior might be done in secret and hence giving bulimia cure to such patients will be difficult, however there are some more symptoms that we can be kept an eye on: 

• Bloating and pain in the abdomen
• Constipation
• Swollen cheeks
• Overall swelling
• Dental problems like tooth and gum decay etc

Once bulimia has been identified the bulimia cure can begin. The most effective and the most commonly used bulimia treatment is therapy. It's very important to explain to the person suffering that its completely curable disorder. They need to be convinced that they need the treatment to stop such ill-treatment of their bodies 
Bulimia treatment chosen mostly is cognitive-behavioral therapy and is done in two phases: 

1. Bulimia Treatment Phase 1 i.e. the breaking of the binge-purge-binge cycle.
2. Bulimia Treatment Phase 2 i.e. correcting the unhealthy thoughts in the brain which lead to the binge-purge-binge cycle in the first place.

In Bulimia Treatment Phase 1 the patient is taught to monitor and record everything eaten and being conscious about it, reduce binge eating while in stress by learning more stress handling techniques

In Bulimia Treatment Phase 2 the patient is taught to see the wider picture and actually realize that self-worth is not totally dependent on the weight and appearance.

This bulimia treatment is further based on Interpersonal psychotherapy. This helps resolving any relationship issues which have led to the disorder in the first place.

Remember a good and effective bulimia treatment can save a life.