Bulimia

Mary, a high school senior, had just finished eating dinner with her friends at the mall. As they were getting up to leave, Mary snuck into the restroom and peeked under all the stalls to make sure they were empty. When she noticed they were all empty, she relaxed. She went into the last stall and quickly purged up the enemy. When she was finished, she looked into the porcelain bowl and saw blood that looked like a ring of fire.

Mary has bulimia nervosa, a type of eating disorder that has many causes and effects. People with the disease nicknamed it “Mia” for short. Bulimia is where a person will eat food and then try to prevent weight gain by purging. Purging may be done by these two ways: making oneself throw up and taking laxatives, pills, or liquids to increase bowel movement. A person with bulimia may also do other means to prevent weight gain such as eating very little or not at all and exercising a lot. People with bulimia have been known to exercise in bad weather, tiredness, sickness, or injury. A friend of mine with bulimia was jogging in a tropical storm and made the cover of our local newspaper. The newspaper was trying to show that the winds nearly obscured her and that you should not be out during a storm. Also, a common misconception is that basically only girls have bulimia. Approximately 10% of identified bulimic patients are men (medicinenet.com). Bulimia can affect anyone.

Bulimia can be caused by many different reasons. The main reason is social pressure. Young people watch a lot of television and read tons of magazines. When young girls see beautiful models and celebrities thin, it makes them believe that the perfect “ideal” person is also. The media tends to portray the ideal person is tall and thin when the normal person is not. Thinness is seen as success and happiness. Another reason is biology. Genes, chemicals, and hormones in the brain may have an effect on the development of, and recovery from, bulimia. People with bulimia may also just feel helpless, bad about themselves, and want a means of “control”. Sports may also be a reason. The athlete may feel pressure from their coach or have to maintain a specific weight in order to continue to play. Parents may also cause their children to be bulimic without meaning to do so. Their attitude about their bodies and their diets may affect their children. Children with parents or siblings with bulimia are also more likely to do it. Think about it, if your mother, someone you looked up to, was constantly critiquing her body,