Eating Disorder Research

Bulimia Symptoms: What Are They?
by Sandra Kim Leong

Bulimia is increasingly a common eating disorder. Bulimia symptoms are characterized by uncontrollable binge eating followed by intentional purging. Binge eating refers to uncontrollable eating; whereas intentional purging is made through vomiting, enemas, laxatives or diuretics.

There are more people with bulimia symptoms than what official estimates say. Many with bulimia symptoms do not seek for treatment as they either do not even realise that they have an eating disorder or that they feel so ashamed that they hide that their eating disorders from others. It is definitely useful to learn what bulimia symptoms are so that you can help your loved ones take the appropriate action.

Mostly, bulimia symptoms are often triggered when the sufferer experiences undue stress. Stress can be from events happening at home, in the office, on the social front. The sufferer develops a distorted picture of body images and engages in binge eating. Binge eating, in turn, cause other emotional problems. Bulimia sufferers often feel guilty about not being able to control their eating and then purging to control their weight. They would then fall into a state of depression after each episode of overeating or purging.

Of course, if you notice that a sufferer is going through depression, it does not necessarily mean that he is having bulimia. However, if the sufferer is moody and you notice that he has been vomiting after eating exceptionally big meals on a regular basis, then chances are he may be displaying bulimia symptoms.

In addition, a good bulimia indication is if you notice that the sufferer undergoes drastic changes in body weight and proportions over extremely short periods of time. The sufferer may even alternate periods of being overweight (resulting from binge eating) with periods of being underweight (resulting from intentional purging). In any case, a radical change in body proportions in a short time often points to an eating disorder, not necessarily bulimia.

In summary, the four bulimia symptoms namely intentional purging, overeating, radical mood swings and drastic weight changes are things that you should look out for. You can help yourself or your loved one in getting a proper diagnosis and to seek medical help.

About the author:
Surviving on 5 carrots a day? Sandra Kim Leong writes on eating disorders . Please visit her site at http://www.eating-disorder-research.com