Waching daily Jul 26 2018

Welcome back to Psych-Minded.

I'm your host Kalley Marie and today we are going to continue on with the eating disorder

series and talk about Bulimia Nervosa.

Bulimia Nervosa is a life-threatening eating disorder that can affect any demographic of

person, any gender, any class of people, and can be very severe.

The main symptom of Bulimia is uncontrollable eating, followed by a period of essentially

making up for the intake.

So the individual with Bulimia will have a period of time where they feel uncontrollable

in their eating and then eventually either make themselves throw up or use diuretics

and laxatives to help the food exit quicker.

It sounds very uncomfortable to talk about or think about, but for someone with Bulimia,

this a compulsion -- an obsessive thing surrounding food and is deeply rooted in a lot of different

issues.

The behaviors of somebody with Bulimia Nervosa are going to be, typically, revolved around

dieting, weight loss, obsessions and preoccupations with food.

You may notice that they take frequent trips to the bathroom after eating meals or before

meals.

Along with disappearing after meals, you may notice that they skip meals entirely.

Part of someone's Bulimia might be that they're afraid to eat in front of other people.

And so a lot of their eating is secretive.

This can only add to the problem because they feel a sense of shame surrounding their food

intake to begin with, and do it in secret -- only adding to the guilt that they feel.

So socially, Bulimia can be a huge roadblock to leading a normal social life and maintaining

an active social network.

Someone who has Bulimia is going to be constantly worried about what their body looks like,

if they've lost weight, if they're gaining weight -- there's going to be a constant preoccupation

similar to Anorexia or any other eating disorder, where it seemingly overtakes the mind of the

individual.

At a certain point, someone with Bulimia might feel completely out of control, and as though

they are unable to stop these behaviors and these thoughts; which is why it is imperative

to get help with eating disorders, whether through therapy or support groups in order

to help combat some of these negative thoughts and these obsessive behaviors.

Additionally, someone with Bulimia may have bad mood swings due to blood sugar levels

being off.

They may show weight fluctuations, whether losing weight or gaining weight.

And this may happen in a very short period of time.

They may also complain of stomach cramping, of feeling dizzy, or being unable to concentrate.

One of the most damaging symptoms of Bulimia is the damage that it does to one's esophagus,

teeth, and gums.

When you're forcing yourself to throw up, you're forcing your body to do something that

typically isn't always natural.

It's a mechanism the body uses for a specific purpose and certainly not to get rid of nutrients

that the body needs.

So when you're forcing yourself to do those things, it can cause a lot of damage to one's

throat and to the teeth.

This is due to the stomach acid that is regurgitated and can hit the gum line and start to erode

and decay the teeth of someone with Bulimia.

Additionally, the stomach problems from taking diuretics or laxatives can be absolutely detrimental

and cause severe pain and serious medical problems.

If you're struggling with Bulimia or an eating disorder or you're not sure, please visit

the National Eating Disorders Association.

I'll leave a link in the description below.

And if you have any questions for me, or any other thoughts on Bulimia Nervosa or eating

disorder in general, please drop a comment and let me know.

And if you haven't yet, please subscribe.

I'll be doing more videos on eating disorders in the near future, so you'll want to know

when those are out.

And if you enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up.

Don't forget to subscribe and I will see you guys next week!

Bye!