Basically, bulimia is a serious eating disorder that affects up to 2% of women between the ages of 19 and 40 – however, it’s a common misconception to believe that it’s a condition exclusive to women when in fact men have been proved to suffer from it as well. It is a psychological condition that comes in many shapes and packages and usually consists of patients binging on food and eating copiously, then making themselves throw up for fear of putting on weight.
Deeper psychological roots of this condition have to do with feelings of lack of control and self-destructiveness, at least in the beginning of the disease, when the eating and vomiting – or any other type of “purging” behavior such as over-exercising or overdosing on laxatives – can be controlled by the sufferer. However, they become compulsive and cannot be controlled by free will anymore, which makes this condition very hard to kick off. Unlike anorexia, bulimia can be very effectively hidden by those who suffer from it and can easily go undetected for years. The over-eating and purging happen at very small intervals and can repeat several times a week, or even several times a day. Bulimia is directly responsible for a large number of health issues – from the erosion of tooth enamel and swollen salivary glands to dehydration and irritation of the esophagus by frequent contact with gastric acids.
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