Bulimia is to be classified in the section of "eating disorders", it is actually the reflection of an extremely deep malaise, distress or trauma.
The Bulimia affects three out of ten teenagers , mostly girls It is usually a sign of profound malaise, although no symptoms suggest it, people who manage to maintain their weight through compensatory strategies after uncontrollable food intake crises.
The bulimia can be joint to a depression or disorders of desire. Victims often evolve in a confrontational, tense, or totally absent family environment.
The crisis period
Before a period of crisis, the person is agitated, anxious, and feels empty of everything (beauty, intelligence, love, etc.). She then feels the urge to eat to fill these gaps. Although she tries to reason with herself, this need to feel good, fulfilled, is stronger, and food is a way to access it easily and quickly.
The ingestion of food is in large quantities, compulsively, imperiously. The person will ingest all that she finds, primarily caloric and sweet foods, but any food will do the job, even if it is not good and she is not hungry. The crisis induces a total loss of control, so much so that the person does not chew the food.
In an ambivalent way, the person feels ashamed after the crisis, but finally feels fulfilled, which reinforces the idea that she had to eat to fill the feeling of emptiness.
The feelings of shame and guilt that follow the crisis, underlined by the loss of control, usually cause a need to purge themselves, cleanse their body, erase the crisis that just happened. This can include intense physical activity, vomiting, laxatives, or total diet control.
Out of times of crisis, meals are extremely ritualized moments for bulimic people, which can lead to strong anxieties at the idea of not controlling food, for example during a meal in the canteen, restaurant, friends. A poorly prepared or poorly presented dish is a strong source of stress that can trigger tremors, crying, etc.
The bulimia and the sense of shame associated with it, lead people to isolate themselves in order to hide their illness, and also allows them to have full control of their food, and thus to have a stranglehold on the one hand of their life, which escapes them.
How to treat bulimia?
The meeting with a psychologist is a first step towards healing. He will be able to propose group sessions, which will allow to meet other people in the same case.
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