Symptoms related to anorexia and bulimia

The anorexia and bulimia  are, in addition to obesity, the two types of eating disorders more serious, in which habits are generated abnormal eating, which can threaten the physical and mental health of an individual. 

Anorexia and bulimia (ana and mia) can be noticed mainly in adolescence , and in the female gender, since women at that age become conflictive with their body and their appearance, and seek to have an image that blurs their true essence and change your personality .

Characteristics related to anorexia and bulimia

People with anorexia often have an excess of low self-esteem   and lack of self – confidence , so they tend to look “fat and ugly”, and they try to change what they see and do not like about themselves, radically restricting their diet.

In adolescence they go through many changes both physical and psychological; one of those changes is your perception of yourself. L as people with anorexia have a distorted perception as body image, even when they are dangerously thin can get to be overweight.

Bulimia generates an out-of-control eating pattern in people;  causes repudiation of their image and bodily disagreement. Unlike anorexia – where they stop eating to look slimmer – people with bulimia eat excessive amounts of food and then purge by vomiting or using laxatives to expel everything they have ingested. Sometimes they can even think and argue that their behavior is not abnormal and it is because, by emptying their body of all ingested substance -through vomiting- they are freeing their soul from all external contamination.

Symptoms related to anorexia

• Refusal to maintain body weight above a minimum normal weight for age and height
• Intense fear of gaining weight even when underweight
• Depression : they are withdrawn and their main concern revolves around food
• Excess of love or hatred for their body, forgetting about love in the relationship life, which leads to isolation
• Self- esteem goes through beauty
• Cessation of menstruation or postponement of its initiation
• Cold and dry skin
• Distorted perception of their body weight, size, or shape – they look and feel fat
• Extreme rigidity in your exercise routine
• Strict eating rules, such as not eating without exercising before
• Frequent use of loose clothing

Symptoms related to bulimia

• Constant preoccupation with food, your figure and your body weight
• Extreme fear of gaining weight. »I ingested you, I devoured you, but I don’t need you to live»
• Dry skin and brittle hair
• Recurring bouts of binge eating
• Regular use of self-induced vomiting, laxatives or diuretics, strict diets, fasting, or very energetic exercises to avoid weight gain
• They go to the bathroom after eating food
• History of  frequent diets
• Swollen glands under the jaw as a result of vomiting, which makes the face appear fatter
• Depression and mood swings. They have melancholic or pessimistic thoughts, recurrent thoughts of suicide, poor ability to concentrate, or increased irritability
• They eat in secret or as unnoticed as possible
• Vascular ruptures in the face or under the eyes, loss of teeth and general irritation of the digestive system
• Unlike anorexics, bulimics do not have an emaciated figure that betrays them

In this sense, it is important to bear in mind that if we observe a family member or friend with these symptoms, do not hesitate to help them even if they do not want to, as they remember that the awareness of illness is not processed from one day to the next ; or if we ourselves suffer from them, seeking help is the best way to start dealing with this disorder . We can do without everything in life except food , and as the popular and clever phrase says   “We are what we eat . “

How can we help those with anorexia and bulimia?

People who suffer from anorexia and bulimia generally do not realize their situation and tend to see it as normal.

One of the treatments used to treat eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia is family therapy . The family plays an indispensable role in achieving effective treatment for those who suffer from these types of disorders. In this therapy it is tried that all the members of the family can collaborate in the recovery of the patient, supporting him emotionally so that he can process his conflict in the best way, and putting himself in his place.

Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy can also be of great help in treating these types of eating disorders. This therapy is intended to find the underlying mental and emotional health problems of the patient and help him understand how his own self-perception and self-image affects his eating behavior. Usually these problems tend to originate in childhood and wake up again in adolescence.

Medications and hospitalization may be necessary if the person is in a delicate state of health, if he is threatening his life or engaging in destructive behaviors with himself and with his environment.