Also called bulimia nervosa and bulimarexia, it is an eating and psychological disorder, in which the person obsessed with their weight tends to eat excessively repeatedly in a very short period of time and then, in a desperate attempt to lose weight. weight gained by eating food, causing forced vomiting, taking laxatives or doing very strong exercise routines.
In this way, the person with bulimia moves away from a healthy lifestyle, with an inadequate diet, which can cause different consequences for the body.
Bulimia is considered a secret addiction, which dominates the person's thinking, belittles their self-esteem and threatens their life.
The bulimic's obsession with his weight is so great that the person distorts the reality of the appearance of his or her body, since he or she looks in the mirror and finds a person obese or overweight, while in reality they may be presenting even malnutrition levels.
This disorder dates back to the time of the Egyptians, who described the symptoms in the Hebrew Talmud. The word bulimia comes from the Greek and means "hunger for the ox", which in its times and that of the Romans, was practiced on a daily basis.
It was not until 1980 that the American Psychiatric Association formally recognized bulimia, including this disorder in the publication of its manual for the diagnosis and statistics of mental disorders, where they listed the criteria or "symptoms" that can diagnose bulimia.
The process carried out by the bulimic is repetitive, with a minimum frequency of twice a week, for three months:
- The "binge" or "the robbery": consists of eating for a period of time, usually less than two hours, a quantity of food much greater than most people would eat in that same period of time.
- Feeling of self-control: in which the person feels that they do not have control over themselves during the binge episode, thus making it difficult for them to stop eating.
- Repentance: embarrassed by excessive food intake and motivated by the obsession of not wanting to gain weight, the person resorts to forced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, diuretics or enemas (a type of purgative), fasting or excessive exercise.
In this way, the specialist is able to diagnose that the person has bulimia. However, there are people who respond to only one or two characteristics of bulimia, which must also be treated seriously, to avoid health conditions.
Although bulimia focuses on a person's eating habits and fear of gaining weight, it is actually a way that people cope with their personal afflictions and emotional pain.
