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On impulse and routine, she quickly jams a finger down her throat and relieves herself of all the food she has recently binged After she is all done, she stares in the mirror, and bursts into tears. “I am so fat and worthless,” she thinks to herself even though she is only 130 pounds. Janie sits on the floor and pulls her knees tight to her chest, “I can’t eat for a whole week because I am a stupid, fat, ugly, pig!” However those were the same words she has spoken to herself for the past week. A glimpse of hope comes to Janie’s mind, “At least I have won the battle for now. The food I just shoveled down my throat won’t affect me today.” What Janie doesn’t know is that she is a victim of a destructive disease called bulimia. Bulimia, which comes from the root word meaning oxhunger due to the person's appetite, affects 5% of American teenage people. She won’t know how desperate she needs help until it’s too late. Bulimia is a growing trend among our teenage girls. The many causes, effects, and treatments must be shared with today’s youth so they can prevent themselves from becoming a target. A lot of people don’t know anything about bulimia. Bulimia is an overwhelming obsession with food and being skinny. Basically, it’s a fear of becoming fat. Bulimic’s consume large amounts of food in a small period of time called binges. When doing that, they usually feel desperate to relieve themselves, so they then force their body to rid itself of the food, which is called purging. To be officially diagnosed bulimic, this person binges and purges at least twice a week for 2 months. According to Leigh Cohn, “bulimia is an addiction that takes over a persons thoughts and self esteem. The longer the person is bulimic, the harder it is to quit” (19). There is a growing trend toward bulimia. Even though more women are affected than men, the most common age of bulimics range from 13-40 years of age. These people are commonly known to be high achievers or sports players. One source from The Royal College of Psychiatrists states, “high achievers are affected because they see bulimia as the missing link to the perfectism puzzle” (Internet). It’s also common for anorexics to turn bulimic because anorexics starve themselves. When they finally do eat, they feel out of control and purge. In fact, 60% of all There are several forms of bulimia. The most frequent form is binge and purge. Another form of bulimia is when a person binges really badly, and then fasts for days. This form actually makes the person gain weight because it will slow down their metabolism , and when they start eating again they will actually gain weight. In a book entitled When Food’s a Foe, the author suggests that another form of bulimia occurs where a person is obsessed with over exercising is extremely popular for athletes (32). There are many methods of purging, but the most common methods are: self induced vomiting, over use of laxatives or diuretics, enemas, abuse of diet pills, fasting, and over exercising. Each method is equally dangerous as the other. Bulimia today is skyrocketing. It is actually one of the most seen eating disorders. Scientific research has shown that 2%-3% of American girls will experience bulimia. The scary thing is that those numbers are steadily increasing (“Hungry Hearts” np). With those general facts, people could become aware of bulimia, and eventually become familiar with it’s causes. The number of causes for bulimia are tremendous. However, each bulimia patient has a different motive. A nutritionist states in the book Eating Disorders, that some bulimics don’t even know whats bothering them until they seek help (25). Each bulimic has one thing in common: Traumatic changes in a person’s life such as death, divorce, moving, or new friends can trigger bulimia. Also personality traits such as a person who is deathly afraid to fail and is mad that they can’t excel anymore, finds comfort in becoming bulimic. Lastly, if the sufferer is a teen, she or he might be fearing puberty. They might be scared to leave their childhood, so they try to maintain their childhood body. Those causes are known as the Family circumstances can be another great issue for bulimics. Being bulimic may seem like a way of self control if the person comes from a demanding family. Frustration could be another major ingredient of bulimia. Frustration can be found in a family that lacks communication, or a family that provides no encouragement or support. In a way, if the person feels that their family hasn’t helped them, being bulimic could be a way of getting revenge at the family. The kid also could be getting pressure from a family member to be skinny, or may have picked up bulimia inherited genes it is genetic. The most common cause for bulimia among teens is social pressure. Ellen Erlanger explains that “whether the person is trying to hang out with a group of bulimics, or somebody simply makes a comment about their physical appearance that could easily cause depression that leads down the path of the binge-purge cycle. Sometimes, even if they are involved in a sport that requires you to be fit, such as cheerleading, they believe they can get into shape by fooling around Finally, the most seen cause of bulimia for anybody is the media. A newspaper article called "Hungry Hearts" stresses that there are so many skinny people in the media that it encourages young girls to try to become skinny. Because thinness is thought about too much in this culture, bigger people get mocked and teased. The media gives off the impression that the only way to be beautiful is to be skinny, which isn’t the truth at all. (np). With all these causes listed, girls find some reason to go to extremes to comfort themselves. Because there are so many causes, people need to equip themselves to see the signs The signs and symptoms of bulimia do exist. Some may be obvious while others aren’t so obvious. In a newspaper article entitled “Signs and Symptoms of Eating Disorders,” it advises that the first thing a person should observe of a bulimic is the overall change in their personality. This person may become snappy, crabby, or irritable. Self esteem will plummet, and their need to be accepted will skyrocket (np). They may insist that they are fat even if they’ve lost weight, and they may be entertaining self destructive thoughts. Their ability to make decisions will deteriorate. Overall, this person will become unhappy, depressed, and lonely. These are the emotional signs. Typical physical signs include: dieting, any sign of the binge-purge cycle, constantly going to the bathroom for vomiting and diarrhea, or eating out of control. As mentioned earlier, the signs may not always be obvious. The typical bulimic will binge and purge in private in fear that they will be caught. When signs are exposed it is essential to discover the effects. Most people see bulimia as targeting the physical health, but it can have a drastic impact on the mental and emotional health of not only the bulimic, but the people around them. The mental health consists of the emotions and basic out take on life in general, which can be altered by bulimia. This disease will make the victim feel overwhelmed, scared, and guilty. It then takes over the mind so all the person thinks about is his/her weight and their social status. Physical effects of bulimia may include: rotten teeth damaged by vomiting, constipation or bloating, swollen glands, blisters in throat, icy hands and feet, dehydration, ulcers, consistent sore throat, weakness, fatigue, abdominal pains, and loss of menstrual periods. These effects aren’t even the most destructive. The real dangers include things such as: cardiac arrest, kidney failure, irregular heartbeat, internal bleeding, reproductive organ damage, holes in the esophagus, and in The most obvious effect of bulimia is the alterations in home life. Aside from emotional problems, their home literally goes through a crisis. First of all, the bathrooms and toilets become stinky and unsanitary. According to Marcia Herrin, “the sheets on the bed could get soiled if they loose control and vomit in them (41). The people around them start to lose sympathy for them because they don’t understand whats happening to that person. They may even become angry, or at times even scared if the person starts to eat out of control. In time, people might even start trying to avoid the afflicted. As for the bulimic person themselves, they get a temporary washed out look, and they start to reek of vomit. Blood vessels in the eyes may even pop. The bulimic then experiences personality changes, and people start acting strange around them. These signs are from a bulimic who has suffered from this disorder for a notable amount of time. As most people can see, treatment is greatly needed at this point. Treatment is a very big step for bulimics. In order to receive treatment, it is crucial for the bulimic to accept that they have a problem. This is hard because the bulimic has messed up the chemical imbalances in his/her head which enables them to think clearly. A very important part to getting help is being diagnosed. When they are diagnosed, they must make sure that this person suffers from bulimia and not another personality disorder. Marcia Herrin defends that it’s easier to be diagnosed earlier, rather than later. During this process the bulimic and people around them must be honest and share everything (np). Support and self esteem plays a major role in recovery, and are considered a must. When a patient is admitted for professional help, the condition of the bulimic is evaluated since the #1 goal is to keep the patient alive and healthy. If in a danger zone, Hoffman states "the patient may be hospitalized. Conditions that cause a patient to be in need of hospitalization include: too much rapid weight loss, serious heart rate problems, depression, craziness, and out of control bingeing and purging. Further action would then take place by assigning a medical team to On an Internet site, Lee Hoffman clearly says, “the medical team includes: an internist, a nutritionist to help come up with a healthy diet, a psychotherapist as a person to talk with that helps sort out emotional problems, and a psychopharmacologist, which is an educated person who knows about treating disorders. Then, a certain type of therapy like group or family therapy can be assigned to the patient since therapy has been proven to be very affective” (Internet). In some cases, antidepressant drugs can be taken to help suppress bingeing. There is also such a thing as recovering without professional help. To do this, serious changes must be made for the bulimic like keeping them out of food filled areas. They must attempt to resolve their problems and try to understand their feelings. For the bulimic family members, it is encouraged to research bulimia to understand what their child is going through. The family must stay patient, and must never pressure or criticize. While recovering, the bulimic must stay consistent, and show effort. Bulimia recovery is a very long road, but there is an end. If they survive that, then they can pretty much survive anything. If educated properly about the causes, effects, and treatment, people like Janie in this world can protect themselves and battle to overcome bulimia. People need to remember that bingeing and purging is the most common form. The average age range is 13-40 years of age. Bulimia can be caused by emotional, mental, or physical forms. The effects on the person are very harmful and destructive to the person themselves and the ones around them. There is a chance for that person to regain his/her old life back with a lot of hard work and effort. Its a long road for America, but there must be changes made to save our youth for generations to come. Shape up America! Bibliography: Word Count: 1966
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