Bulimia nervosa (commonly known as bulimia) is an eating disorder and serious mental health problem. Someone with bulimia might feel parts of their lives are out of control and use purging to give them a sense of control. Bulimia is a serious condition that can cause long-term damage, but help is available.
bulimia nervosa experience one or more anxiety disorders,” most commonly, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), social phobia, and specific phobia [1]. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can occur up to three times more frequently in individuals with bulimia than those with anorexia [1].
Understanding that an eating disorder is a person's coping mechanism helps those around the person to realise how frightening and difficult it is for the person to let it go as they recover.
Mental and Emotional Effects
Because bulimia nervosa is a mental health disorder, some of the most common side effects of bulimia nervosa are mental and emotional. Such common effects include anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
Over time, bulimia can cause a person to experience very serious symptoms, such as severe dehydration, organ damage, stroke, and heart attack. Some of these symptoms can be life-threatening or cause permanent damage to the body.
These researchers looked at almost 1,900 individuals who came over the course of two decades, to the University of Minnesota's Outpatient Eating Disorders Clinic. They turned up almost equal mortality rates in anorexia (4%) and bulimia (3.9) but a significantly higher rate for ED-NOS (5.2%).
Mental and Emotional Effects
The effects of bulimia can damage the brain's ability to concentrate and make decisions. Those with bulimia sometimes suffer from psychological issues that can last years and even endanger their lives. Some individuals fall into a such great depression that they may become suicidal.
Bulimia nervosa is similar to anorexia nervosa in that it is also characterized by harm avoidance. Individuals with bulimia nervosa are more likely to exhibit shyness, pessimistic thinking, excessive worry and doubt and are easily fatigued.
What Kind of Person Tends to Get Bulimia Nervosa? The typical profile of a person with bulimia nervosa is an adolescent to young adult female who is impulsive, perfectionistic, hard-working, introverted, resistant to change and self-critical. They also tend to have low self-esteem based on body image distortion.
Studies have shown that individuals who have experienced trauma are more likely to engage in eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and anorexia nervosa. In addition, the earlier the trauma occurs, the more intense the outcome.
In fact, Bulimia Nervosa is commonly co-occurring with drug addictions. Many research studies have demonstrated the overlapping behaviors of eating disorders and substance abuse and the similar addictive personality that is often observed in individuals who suffer with both addictions and bulimia.
It is characterized by uncontrolled episodes of overeating (called bingeing). This is followed by purging by self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, and other methods. Bulimia typically affects females and starts during the teenage years.
Bipolar Disorder and Bulimia
As mentioned above, individuals with bipolar disorder are also more likely to experience bulimia nervosa behaviors. Purging is an impulsive behavior, therefore, those with bipolar disorder might engage in both bingeing and purging behaviors when in a manic or hypomanic state.
Studies have shown that 14 percent of individuals with bipolar disorder also have a co-occurring eating disorder such as bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder.
Neurological Effects on the Brain Caused by Bulimia Nervosa
Eating disorders can have a variety of effects on the brain as well. Repeated binge eating episodes can alter the way the brain releases and distributes serotonin, not to mention the various deficiencies in brain function resulting from prolonged malnutrition.
Those with bulimia are at heightened risk for dehydration because water volume can drop so quickly during a purging episode. If too much water is purged from the body, it can result in serious medical complications including hypovolemic (low blood volume) shock, seizures and kidney or heart failure.
If left untreated, bulimia can result in long-term health problems such as abnormal heart rhythms, bleeding from the esophagus due to excessive reflux of stomach acid, dental problems, and kidney problems.
A whopping 40% of Anorexia Nervosa/Bulimia Nervosa patients have co-morbid personality disorders (mostly Cluster B-Narcissistic, Histrionic, Antisocial, Borderline).
Anger and aggressive behaviours, especially those self-directed, are frequent in subjects suffering from anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
The most effective treatment methodologies for bulimia nervosa include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and holistic therapies. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the most evidence-based treatment approach for all mental illnesses.
Eating disorders damage nearly every system in the body, but people living with even the most extreme forms of anorexia or bulimia can recover with treatment.
Bulimia nervosa prognosis can vary from person to person. The average episode duration of bulimia has been reported at 6.5 years. Though the road to recovery can be challenging, the 5-year clinical recovery rate has been reported at 55.0%.
Examining the cumulative age of onset curves, rates of anorexia nervosa plateaued near age 26, bulimia nervosa near age 47, and binge eating disorder after age 70.
Electrolyte imbalance is the most common cause of sudden death in people who die from bulimia nervosa,8 as purging drastically affects electrolyte levels in the body.