Psychology

Introduction
Bulimia is described as an eating disorder which is horrifying due to its effects on the patient. The affected person believes that they are overweight and go to extreme measures to purge themselves of the assumed fat. This condition is also referred to as bulimia nervosa (Urbick, 2010). Bulimia is a common eating disorder affecting people with uncontrollable emotional issues. Young people are very vulnerable as they are in a phase where they are seeking to conform to what the society paints as acceptable

What Makes Bulimia A Horrifying Eating Disorder
People suffering from bulimia use extreme methods to loose weight. They are known to overindulge themselves into exercise and end up abusing laxatives. In other cases, people with bulimia will force themselves to vomit using anything that will bring the food out of their systems. They also overindulge in food, a situation referred to as binging. They will then feel guilty of their overindulgence and induce vomiting to eject the consumed food (Urbick, 2010). Young women are at a higher risk of developing bulimia and statistics show that up to 90 of women have the disorder (Helpguide, 2010).

Types of Bulimia
There are two known types of bulimia. These are purging and non purging bulimia. In purging bulimia, the affected person takes to induced vomiting to rid the body of the food they have consumed. These people also result to the use of diuretics, laxatives and enemas to purge out the food. The other type is non-purging bulimia and affected persons take to extreme exercising, crash diets and fasting to rid themselves of the excess weight (Helpguide, 2009).

People at a Risk of Developing Bulimia
Bulimias 55 of cases are genetic. The rest are triggered by the environment in which one gets socialized. The worlds image of a beautiful woman is a thin one and this has affected many young girls. Many television commercials depict slim women as beautiful and progressive. The growing teenagers thus try to emulate the media presentation and this makes them feel inadequate. They feel less attractive. Girls with perfectionist traits are at a great risk of developing bulimia. They do not like their bodies and this gives them a low self esteem. People who are unable to control their behavior are also at a high risk of becoming bulimic. People suffering from erratic mood swings will also be prone to developing bulimia. This eating disorder is also prevalent amongst people who have undergone either physical or sexual abuse (Harvard College, 2006).

They are vulnerable and are bound to develop self hate that makes them susceptible to bulimia. Families that dwell in internal conflicts are a solid platform for people to develop bulimia. They will try to find solitude in food to run away from the problems they are facing in their families. This is also one of the reasons why bulimia is a psychological defect as people always seek to hide their troubled emotions in binging. People who are 18 years of age are more susceptible to bulimia as they are in an age where they are trying to find an identity in the society. It is at this stage of late adolescence where people become more conscious of their bodies, experience mood swings, suffer stress and even find it hard to persevere intense hunger (Harvard College 2006). People whose brain has serotonin in low levels are also likely to develop bulimia. Serotonin is a chemical found in the brain that may cause clinical depression if its levels are altered (Parker, 2010).

Symptoms of Bulimia
People with bulimia exhibit several symptoms that include excessive eating which becomes uncontrollable. They can not bring themselves to stop eating. These people will also exercise purging. Others will put on themselves a strict diet in a bid to loose weight. Since they are so obsessed with loosing weight, they will exercise suicidal fasting whereby they will not touch any foods. People with bulimia will engage in vigorous exercise in an effort to loose weight. Other symptoms common with them is a tendency to induce vomiting every time they eat. They feel that the food they have just eaten will make them fat and therefore induce vomiting to remove it. Out of this forced vomiting, many of them end up vomiting blood (Mamashealth, 2010).

A person who is obsessed with their body weight could just be on the verge of becoming bulimic. They always feel that they do not have the normal weight. Other emotional changes common with bulimic people include terrible mood swings. They are unable to control their emotions. Others will suffer heartburn, constipation, indigestion and general body weakness. Bloodshot eyes are common with people with bulimia and they will more than often feel exhausted. Other symptoms will be irregular periods, a sore throat as well as dental problems among others (Mamas health, 2010).

Psychological effects of bulimia

Low self esteem
Many people suffering from bulimia have a history of low self esteem and thus they are unable to control their emotions. The reasons that lead them to result to bulimia are include blame for things that happen to them or other people. They feel unable to control events of their surroundings. They feel helpless in that they were not able to stop whatever happened. They feel liable for any problem and end up punishing themselves by binging. They embark on a revenge mission to release these intense emotions that are building up in them (Something Fishy 2007).

Addiction
People with bulimia are more susceptible to drug addiction. This results to as they attempt to run away from their emotions. They find comfort in drugs since they take them away from the matters at hand. It is a temporary escape from what is bothering them so much. Drugs give them a high feeling where they are in a world of their own where everything is perfect. They see life in a straight line. They loose themselves to the fantasy presented by these drugs. They find it impossible to live without these drugs and thus get hooked since one dose deserves another (Webster, 2010).

Mood swings
Mood changes characterize people suffering from bulimia by default. They are emotionally unstable and this gives them varied moods. They react to different situations erratically and this makes them difficult people to understand. One may be laughing with them now and the next minute they are shouting at you. One moment they are calm and controlled and the next time they are slipping into depression. This can be very confusing to people living with them as it will be hard to tell who they really are (Webster, 2010).

Self seclusion  isolation
People suffering from bulimia will avoid being in the company of others. This is because they would love to keep their eating disorder private. They hate to be reprimanded and will thus take to hiding. They will want to eat alone especially when there is no one at home. Other result to waking up at night to eat when all are asleep. They then take to covering up their binging by refilling the refrigerator or changing their food stores just in case someone suspects them (Womens-health-fitness, 2010).

Shame and Guilt
People suffering from bulimia will suffer from lonely bouts of guilt and shame. They are first of all ashamed of their disturbing eating habits. They feel guilty that they are overindulging in food and that is why they induce vomiting in an attempt to undo their binging. They also feel so much out of control and this may depress them even further (Bell, 2008).

Depression
Depression is one of the emotional effects of bulimia. People affected by bulimia suffer from self inadequacy that makes them hate themselves and feel worthless. They feel like losers now that they have not been able to control their emotions and binging habits. They start keeping to themselves and this leads them to depression (Bell, 2008).

Side Effects of Bulimia
People with bulimia will suffer from physically visible side effects. The common ones include a dry skin and hair loss. Other side effects may not be visible. These include weak muscles, insomnia and stomach ulcers. However, it is important to note that serious side effects can manifest themselves if the primary symptoms are not treated as soon as they register. (Taylor, 2010). These may include irregular hormones, osteoporosis, an irregular heartbeat,   a bone density that is decreased as well as damaged organs. People with bulimia end up abusing laxatives and their side effects are also highly felt. These include bowel movements that are irregular, chronic irritations in the stomach as well as accumulation of toxins. Diuretics will also leave the patient with side effects such as hypertension, kidney failure and the body fluids may become stagnant (Taylor, 2010).

Treatment
Bulimia manifests itself more like a psychological effect which can be termed as depression. The good news is that bulimia is treatable and this gives hope to affected persons. Some of the treatments that have been used on this condition include antidepressants. Another method used to cure this condition is psychotherapy. If one is to recover fully, family support is of essence. People suffering from bulimia need constant reassurance that they are not lesser persons. They need to be showered with love and made to feel comfortable in their skins. The person with bulimia also has to show interest in their recovery. This will make the recovery process easy. Visiting a dietician is also vital in that one will get advice on a healthy diet. A psychiatrist should also be involved in this process to ensure that the patients mental health is in order (Mayo clinic, 2010).

In psychotherapy, the patient talks to a mental health professional about their condition. This helps them come out of this state of depression which makes them feel fat and helpless. It seeks to counsel them in an effort to help them get over the effects of the disorder. Many bulimia sufferers are not necessarily overweight they just get obsessed with their body weight and believe that they are not proper. Another form of therapy known as cognitive behavioral (CBT) is also administered (Mayo clinic, 2010).This type of therapy seeks to discard the belief most bulimic people have that they are to blame for events happening around them. Through this treatment, they learn how to be positive about life issues and get over the negative ones that slip them further into depression. These issues could be negative behavior or beliefs which misguide them and damage their self esteem and well being. For instance, many bulimic people belief that they will stay thin if they restrict themselves to food. This is on the contrary since most of them end up binging to satisfy their hunger (Mayo clinic, 2010).

The medication that is mostly prescribed for people with bulimia is depressants. The most common one is the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs). The antidepressants contained in this group include fluoxetine, citalopram, paroxetine, sertraline, escitalopram and fluvoxamine. Among the conditions that SSRIs treat include eating disorders, depression, social phobia and anxiety among others. These medicines require to be taken religiously since they take longer to have effect in the body system. Medics however advise against their prescription to people with kidney, epilepsy, liver and heart disorders (NHS Choices, 2010).

To fully treat bulimia, one has to get back to the right weight. Many bulimic people are underweight and the healing process will include a proper diet that will give them a healthy normal weight. The dietician will come in handy here as he will guide the patient on the right foods. The dietician will also ensure that the patient exercises healthy eating habits to reduce the risk of going back to binging. This has to be done under the watchful eye of a medic (Mayo clinic, 2010).

Nutritional counseling is a vital phase in recovering from bulimia. People need to be taught on how to get back to a healthy eating routine. Binging is impulsive and people eat at any time of day as long as they are experiencing an emotional shift. With nutritional counseling, people are able to practice a healthy eating cycle which will include a schedule on how they will have their meals. This schedule will also be complete with the amount of calories that they must take daily to take them back to a normal weight (Harvard College, 2010).

Interpersonal therapy is also administered and this seeks to build relationships between the affected person and his environment. Since bulimia is more of a psychological disorder, affected people more often than not suffer from broken family or social relationships. Once they are assured of love and security, they will be able to come into terms with their eating disorders and be a better position to recover (Harvard College, 2010).

Self help also plays a great role in the recovery process. For one to recover fully, they must first of all accept the fact that they are unwell. This acceptance of the situation will help them take on the recovery path. They must be willing to change their lifestyle and be willing to open up to others. This way, their emotions will be addressed and this will make it easy for them to heal. This strategy however must be combined with others to achieve the objective as it may not be as effective on its own (Harvard College, 2010).

Bulimia is not confined to hospital treatment. People will only be hospitalized if the disorder has taken toll on them. It is not mostly a life threatening disorder and one will only be admitted if it is posing a risk to their lives. At times, bulimic people tend to exhibit suicide tendencies. Some may also be at a risk of harming themselves. These are some of the issues that may lead to hospital confinement (NHS Choices, 2010).

Preventing Bulimia
It has always been said that prevention is better than cure. People with high self esteems are most unlikely to succumb to bulimia. They will have accepted themselves as they are and they will not give in to pressure from their environment. Young people need to learn that it is okay to be imperfect. They do not have to look like someone else. They also need to learn that no one is perfect, not even their picture perfect role models (Starr, 2010). Most of these models make people plastic and unrealistic and strive so much to be like them. Television commercials also contribute to bulimic instances as they portray the perfect being as a thin beautiful model. This is unrealistic since not everyone can have such a body. It is therefore advisable to look at the media critically and help the young people love who they are. They do not have to feel pressured to conform to what the media puts across as ideal (Starr, 2010).

Conclusion
Bulimia is a common eating disorder affecting people with uncontrollable emotional issues. Parents have a major role to play in young peoples lives. They need to reassure and appreciate them for the persons they are. They must let them know that their differences make them unique. They need to make them understand that sometimes things do not work out in their favor. This will help them take failure and criticism positively and not blame themselves for undesired results. Many young people become depressed since they feel liable for things happening around them. They blame themselves for issues beyond their control. This may cause them to overindulge in eating in an effort to escape their current woes. Young people are very vulnerable as they are in a phase where they are seeking to conform to what the society paints as acceptable. They need to be taught about healthy eating habits to ensure that they lead a healthy lifestyle.