Mõtlemisvajadus ja vastupandamatu isu toidu järele: arst nimetas buliimia põhjuseid ja sümptomeid.

The topic of eating disorders is extremely common in high performance sports. Especially among gymnasts and figure skaters. Why? Their performance depends on their body weight. Constantly maintaining weight is a difficult task both psychologically and physically. It causes stress and neuroses.

In addition to the well-known anorexia (the desire to lose weight by purposeful long-term self-restriction in food), some athletes suffer from bulimia (uncontrollable bouts of sudden increase in appetite, accompanied by a strong sense of hunger).

At various times, gymnasts Alexandra Soldatova, Nadia Comaneci and Kathy Rigby, figure skaters Eva-Maria Fitze and Nancy Carrigan, and tennis player Zina Garrison have had this disorder.

And those are just the known cases. Most hide their problems from loved ones and the public. That’s not the right thing to do.

psychotherapist, psychiatrist, psychologist.

Modern standards of beauty now exalt thin and slender girls. Excessive striving for a dream figure, combined with addiction to food can lead to a mental disorder. One of the most common and scary diagnoses is bulimia. At least one person dies from it every 62 minutes worldwide.

What is bulimia?

It is a psychological eating disorder (EBD). It occurs on a nervous basis. It is characterized by a chain of subsequent actions: overeating, and then “cleansing” the body artificially. The patient uses various methods to get rid of the calories eaten. As a rule, these are laxatives, enema, artificially induced vomiting, physical exertion to exhaustion.

Food is an important source of energy, and for some people it is also a source of joy. Remember the feeling when you have a delicious meal. This is due to the release of the hormones dopamine and serotonin. Food helps to reduce stress levels.

Overeating most often occurs after emotional stress. It can be problems at work, bad news, high workload, failures or losses.

Types of malaise

1. Persistent. The patient first overeats, then “purges” and again thinks about a new portion. That is, consumes food constantly.

2. Seizure-like. After “cleansing” the patient may not eat for more than six hours. In some cases, the time interval can be up to two to four days.

3. nocturnal. A person overeats at night, and during the day eats in a normal amount or less.

What types are there?

There are two main types at the moment:

1. The classic or, in another way, the purging kind. In this case, after overeating, the patient cleanses his body with all kinds of methods. Causes vomiting, does enema, uses excessive doses of laxatives and diuretic medications.

2 Bulimia as the second stage of anorexia. Here the patient no longer applies the above methods, but compensates for them by active physical activity and starvation.

Unlike patients with anorexia, victims of bulimia are not so easy to recognize. In most cases, they are not obese. Their weight corresponds to normal indicators, but each case of this mental disorder is unique.

Symptoms

This type of RPP is difficult to diagnose. At times, even loved ones can miss the first warning signs of this disorder. Here are the signs to look out for:

• Seedetrakti häired;
• suurenenud süljeeritus;
• depression associated with overeating;
• an inflamed throat, which is irritated by gastric juices;
• hair loss; decay of teeth; dry skin;
• menstrual irregularities;
• halb hingeõhk;
• frequent consumption of food;
• artificially induced vomiting to clear food from the stomach;
• eating large meals;
• burst capillaries in the eyeball due to frequent vomiting.

In order to effectively combat this ailment, it is necessary to find out the cause of the disorder.

What causes bulimia?

Many people mistakenly believe that the root of the problem lies in genetic predisposition. This is not the case. Everything lies in the mental state of a person and a number of diseases. The causes include:

• mental problems;
• obsessive beliefs about beauty standards;
• endocrine disorders;
• frequent depression;
• nervous tension, stress, which the patient eats a lot of food;
• dislike of one’s body, criticism of others about weight, complexes;
• low self-esteem, insecurity;
• constant dieting.

How is RPP treated?

There is an opinion that for healing, the patient needs to take all the will in a fist and force himself to cure. Unfortunately, this is a vicious circle, from which it is impossible to get out on your own. Here the urgent help of a specialist is required.

The problem is that a patient diagnosed with bulimia does not think that he is sick. Therefore, it is important to identify the disease as early as possible, before it entails more terrible consequences.

Working with a psychiatrist or psychotherapist is necessary to find out the cause and then eliminate the psychological problem. The goal of treatment is to change the attitude towards oneself and one’s body. Effective methods are psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), interpersonal therapy, and group counseling.

Medication therapy is also used. It includes a complex of drugs that reduce the frequency of bulimia attacks due to the effect on the nervous system. After you will need the help of a nutritionist, adjustment of nutrition for further recovery of digestive functions and the body as a whole.

If you notice in your environment in someone close to you symptoms of RPP, immediately contact a specialist. Do not wait for the disease to go away by itself, do not stand aside, be responsible for your health and the health of your loved ones.